Ghosts
by kallistra
Summary: AFTER THE DUEL. BOOK I. From the darkness of her life, Anzu finds hope and love once again with Atemu. However, the path is not free of difficulties and they must face their fears and the Gods to find their way from across life and death. COMPLETE. R
1. Touched

Rose-colored tendrils spread across the indigo sky as dawn met another day. Early morning sounds of those walking upon the sidewalks, crying out for cabs, and hawking doughnuts and coffee to rushing passersby created an ever rising crescendo of a din. Children called out to one another, ready for another day at school or to skip class and make their way to a mall. Daylight had come and the good and proper had awoken from their slumbers.

Elsewhere in the city of towering skyscrapers, the nightwalkers and seedier underside were making their way to sleep; a long night of boozing, dancing, drugging and sexing behind them. Now, during the brightness of the day, their long-lost dreams come to them once more. The goals and aspirations they buried inside themselves, tried to kill, in a torrent of seedier jobs and desperate drugs. Their night was over, and it was time to sleep.

One such lost soul in the city was never born there. Instead, she had come to New York with its glittering lights and promises of fame to become a famous dancer. Born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, she had only known hope and friendship. In this city, she found no friends. Harsh reality had set in when she had been expelled from the dancing school. Refusing to go back home in shame, she had not told anyone of the subsequent year and a half she had spent attempting to eke out an existence in a city that didn't care how big your heart was or that you even once knew royalty. Anzu Mazaki was now known in this city as Geisha Girl, the only remaining mark of her heritage, and while she still danced, she danced on tables and stages for whatever money men would throw to her.

It had been a long night for her. She was now a VIP girl at the Dancing Dolls, the club she worked at, and being a VIP girl was not an honor. She was getting more money but now she was doing more than stripping the thin pieces of fabric off her body for show. Anderson, the owner, ordered her to do this. She knew if she said 'no', she could be hurt. She did what she had to do, and her whole being was suffering.

Anzu tossed and turned on her bed, hot tears spilling down her cheeks as the events of the night kept replaying over and over in her mind's eye. She quickly sat up and looked around the room. Dirty and unkempt, a reflection of her soul she thought to herself. Her dark blue eyes scanned until she noticed on her nightstand several pill bottles. She had been 'popping pills' as they called it for almost a year now. Anzu knew that there was probably a good thirty in the bottle and next to it was about a fifth of vodka.

It almost felt like someone else's hands were leading hers. She felt fingers dropping pills on her tongue, followed by a swig of the cheap vodka to swallow them down; one at a time. When the bottle was empty, she stared with emotionless eyes.

"So, this must be what it is like," she murmured to herself, "when one wishes to … not exist."

Warmth spread outward from her stomach, spurred by the alcohol, to encompass her body. She knew the first bits of the pills were being digested as she felt the lightheaded sensation begin to take over. Anzu flung herself back against her bed, spreading her arms outward until they touched the twin nightstands on either side. The fingers of her right hand stroked something cold and metal, a knife she kept nearby. Scrabbling her fingers over it, she brought it over her face and stared at her reflection in the blade. Hallowed eyes ringed by heavy dark circles and smeared mascara stared back at her, strands of midnight black hair over extremely pale skin. She laughed at herself, remembering how she used to dye it light brown in high-school when she had friends.

The shrill ringing of her telephone interrupted her thoughts of the past. She counted the rings. One, two, three, four, five. There, the machine picked up. She could hear herself asking the caller to leave a message in English, and then repeating herself in Japanese. It was a strange coincidence that the caller was Yugi Mutou.

"Anzu! It's Yugi. Anzu, I miss you! I have great news. Rebecca and I are going to be married when she graduates from school. I asked her just an hour ago over dinner. I know that's two years from now, but you can't fight true love. Please call us! I bet it's so exciting in New York at the dancing school. Bye!"

He had no idea. No one back in Japan knew what had really happened. She never told her friends, never told her parents. "It is better this way," she thought to herself bitterly.

Anzu turned her head back toward the blade over her head and shrieked. For a brief moment, a golden Eye of Anubis glared at her from against the surface. Looking again it was gone, but she really thought it had been there.

"Drugs, it's the drugs and alcohol. Not much longer now, I suppose I'll see more crazy shit before they release me."

Twisting over her blankets, she pulled them around her in a cocoon and began to sing an old lullaby from her childhood. The words were getting caught in her throat at times from speaking to Americans daily. She felt sleepy and like she was beginning to float. Then, she could feel her body begin to twitch.

"Soon, soon, soon," she began to repeat to herself over and over. When she heard a strong, male, and familiar voice respond back, it jarred her back into reality.

"No! It is not soon!" The voice shouted at her.

Now, she could feel the chill of her skin, the palpations of her heart, every part of her almost complete self-inflicted death creeping across her. The worst part was the male voice. She knew that voice and tried to respond, but her tongue was thick and swollen in her mouth. It didn't matter, she needn't say a thing as she felt his hands grip her from the side and force her on her back.

He was glowing gold, just like the last time she saw him before he went to the underworld. She tried to follow him but Jonouchi had held her back. It was her present that was able to release him from this world. In a way, it was her fault he left. However, there was no sadness-tinged joy in his eyes as she stared up into them; the purple irises were almost black with rage. Upon his forehead, the Eye glowed in prismatic shades.

"You will not do this!" The vision of Atemu continued to shout at her.

She could feel his fingers digging into her arms as he shook her with each word. Was this real? Was this the result of the drugs she had taken? Her mind couldn't keep up with what was happening, but something was happening. It seemed the world had shrunk around her, and all that she could see was the glowing eye on his forehead. Her body began to spasm and she lurched over the side of the bed.

Anzu began to heave up all the pills she had swallowed, many were half-digested, and the smell of the pills blended with the vomited vodka created a unique stench all their own to force her to continue to purge her system. Greenish bile soon covered the small pile on her carpet by her bed, each retch punctuated by a small scream of pain from her and twist of her shoulders. After what seemed like an eternity, she stopped.

Her room was as it was, albeit it now stank. Wrinkling her nose, she stumbled up to find a dirty towel to wipe up her mess. As she cleaned, she felt her body spasm again at the smell but swallowed hard to keep from throwing up again.

"What the hell was that?" she asked herself out-loud. "That was the craziest, most realist trip I've ever experienced."

She looked around the dingy room, seeing nothing of what might have marked his presence.

"I could feel his hands..."

Slightly crazed laughter bubbled up from her as she grabbed an old dress to finish what the towel did not pick up.

"There is no way that really happened. He's been gone four years, now. Well... three thousand... give or take..."

Anzu made her way to her bathroom and dropped the dress and towel into the bathtub. She turned the shower to full blast on hot. The steam began to clear her head, and she sighed. The mirror had already fogged up, but she could see her hazy outline in it.

Speaking to herself, "That was pretty pathetic, wasn't it, Anzu? Can't even kill yourself properly, huh? Utter waste and failure that you are."

Reach forward, she cleared away all the mist on the mirror to see herself in sharp contrast. Her entire upper body was reflected back to her. She had lost all her childhood weight and was a gaunt and skinny woman. Her skin was so pale from the lack of sunlight to be borderline pasty. Only her oriental heritage kept her from being purely white. She was wearing a simple black tank top that did very little to cover her. However, what kept her staring at herself weren't these things.

Anzu could see distinctly on each upper arm one long bruise on the inside and four long bruises on the outside. They looked like someone strong had dug their fingers into her.


	2. Watched

Anzu huddled up in her over-sized coat as she made her way between the faceless rows of people on the sidewalk. She would pass the occasional decorative tree nearly void of any leaves. A soft sigh would escape her lips as she would compare herself to the autumnal tree; there for decoration but the bounty almost gone. Her blue eyes were downcast at her feet and she could watch her small feet rapidly tapping over the cracked concrete. Her thoughts kept running back to the events of the morning.

"It could not have happened," she thought to herself.

Her small hand made its way to her throat where a thin chain held a silver cartouche with her name engraved upon it in Egyptian. She had given Atemu one just like it. It was the gift that granted the first step toward his release. However, maybe he was not gone from this world. It was either that or she was completely insane. So lost in her thoughts over the morning's events or hallucinations, she hadn't decided which yet, that she lost track of the feet and found herself smack into about two-hundred and fifty pounds of New Yorker.

A gruff voice bellowed down at her. "Yo! Watch 'ere ya goin'! You hit me, you little bitch."

"I-i-i'm sorry," she tried to stammer out, suddenly finding her accent preventing her from enunciating the words correctly. This morning she was having trouble speaking Japanese, and now it was English. Giving up, she blurted out, "Sumimasen!"

A beefy paw from the man reached and grabbed her, "Sue you! Impolite now, are ya!"

Anzu's eyes grew wide. What was it with her getting grabbed today floated across her mind. If the situation wasn't frightening enough, she could laugh right now. All she could for the moment was shake her head back and forth, whimpering "No, no!"

As she whipped her head back, out of the corner of her eye, she saw him across the street. A mass of spiky black and magenta hair, offset by golden blond bangs held back by a Millennium Eye band. Atemu was a bright and completely different character from the drab lines of pedestrians. Cabs and cars were speeding across the roadway between them, and every few seconds, he'd disappear behind one only to reappear. Anzu shook the giant man off of her and ran into the street, screaming out Atemu's name.

Horns beeped, tires screeched to a stop, and people screamed at the girl running into the street. Anzu watched horrified as Atemu's form became translucent and vanished like so many grains of sand upon the breeze. She could only stand there in the middle of the road. Her mouth attempted to make another sound. She could hear the Americans yelling at her to get out of the way but her feet were rooted and she couldn't move. What was happening to her she could only think. She covered her face with her hands and bowed her head, her black strands floating around her like a halo, and began to cry.

Soft hands touched her shoulders and began to lead her back toward the sidewalk. Voices filled with static spoke of various crimes and issues across the city. Anzu could hear a dispatcher talking about the Japanese girl standing in the middle of Fifth Avenue. That would be her. The owner of the gentle hands prodded her through the crowd and toward a small bistro nearby. She was deposited into a delicate cast iron chair. The person left and went up to the counter.

"Hey, Earl. Can I get a couple cups of joe?" The female police officer asked of the man behind the register.

"Surah, no problem there Ma'am Mackinaw," he responded and began to make conversation. "Crazy there that girl you got. What was it she was screaming when she went out there?"

"You got me, but I think she needs a friend right now."

"Sure, she doesn't need a shrink or sumthin'?"

"Nah... I think she's just a little lost. Happens to the best of 'em 'round here, y'know."

With a smile and wink, Officer Mackinaw took the hot cups, maneuvered herself to grab a few creamers and sugars, and made her way back to where she had left Anzu sitting. Anzu hadn't moved an inch. Only her blue eye peeking between strands of hair showed any signs of activity.

"Hey there, sweetie," the policewoman's voice drawled, "I didn't know if you liked it black like I did or with cream and sugar. You look like you could use a cup of coffee."

Anzu wrapped her hand around the warm styrofoam cup and looked up into some of the kindest gray eyes she had ever seen.

"Domo arigato," she murmured, "I... I mean thank you very much." Anzu sighed.

Mackinaw's face broke into a smile, laugh lines revealing themselves around her lips and eyes.

"Stranger in a strange land, yes?" The officer mused. "I'm Officer Mackinaw, and your name is..." she fished.

"Anzu Mazaki."

"Pleased to meet ya, Miss Anzu. Now, I don't mean to be rude, seeing as we just started with our coffees. But, what were you doing out in that street like that?"

Anzu ripped open a few packets of sugar and poured the contents into her cup, followed by a few mini cups of cream. She sighed as she stirred the pale coffee.

"I thought I saw a friend of mine, from back home. I guess... I might be a bit homesick." Anzu gave the older woman a slightly crooked smile, one that she had used on her customers at night that would exude her innocence.

"Ahh... poor thing. How long have you been here? You have... not to be rude but I have to ask, you have a green card right?"

Anzu nodded her head in response. "Student Visa. Though... I'm having problems getting back into school so I will have to probably leave soon. I've been in New York about two years."

"What were you studying?"

The girl knew the officer was digging her for information. However, Anzu didn't think she was doing to get her in trouble. Maybe this woman could help her, but she knew there was no way she was going to mention that the 'friend' she was seeing was an Egyptian pharaoh from three thousand years ago. She could almost see how that conversation would end.

"I'm studying dancing. Hip-hop and classical ballet," Anzu replied, a ghost of a smile creeping on her worn face.

Mackinaw nodded as she took a sip of her coffee.

"My niece studied dancing, too. More ballet than than the jazzier bits," the woman paused a moment. "Here, why don't you visit this school, maybe they might be able to get you a spot."

Grabbing a napkin, the office scribbled down a name and address. Anzu's eyes were wide with shock.

"Why..."

"I'll lay it to ya straight Miss Anzu. You seem like a nice girl that is now caught up with some bad pieces." Mackinaw waved a hand for Anzu to be quiet when her mouth opened in protest. "You don't have to say a word. I can tell. It's my job."

Anzu started to thank the policewoman, but then Mackinaw's walkie-talkie came to life and a dispatcher informed her of some trouble further down the street.

"Ah, that's my goodbye call. You take care, now." The woman stood up and patted Anzu on the head. "Keep your chin up and stay out of these streets now, y'hear." With that farewell, she was gone into crowds.

Anzu leaned back in her chair and gazed up at the sky between the skyscrapers and tenements. The pale blue was giving way to a light golden color as dusk took over. Her fingers played over the napkin with the school information written on it. Maybe, just maybe she might have a shot. She closed her eyes and imagined herself on a stage wearing a beautiful leotard as the melody of Swan Lake seemed to swirl around her dream self. A low, vibrating hum shook her from the dream.

Flipping open her phone, Anzu answered it. "Hello!"

"GG!!!!" squealed the voice on the other end. "It's Diamond, guess what! We have big time johns coming into the club tonight."

Anzu tried to inject false enthusiasm into her voice. "Oh... that's great."

"Isn't it! I smell a thousand dollar night coming on tonight! Hurry up and get over here. I know it's early, but I need your help."

"I don't know... I might be busy right now!" Anzu teased.

"Please, don't make me beg, because I will and I'll make you false promises, too!"

Anzu giggled into the phone.

Diamond laughed. "I can at least offer you some dinner. How's some Italian sound?"

"OK!" Anzu replied, "I could go for that. I should be down there in about thirty minutes or so."

"See you soon!" Diamond's voice said in closing before she hung up.

Anzu stood up and shoved the note into her pocket. There was no use dreaming just yet. She had to work to stay here, and her job, unfortunately, had just reminded her of what exactly she was doing for a living at the moment. The golden sky overhead had quickly become indigo, and the neon lights of a city that never slept twinkled on along the avenue. She was just one of millions in this city, and the loneliness of it wrapped its cold tendrils around her heart. Anzu remembered the message Yugi had left on her answering machine in her studio earlier. She expected Jonouchi and Mai to go down that path at some point, if Mai proposed first. Anzu made a promise to herself to call Yugi to congratulate him when she returned home after this evening.

Dodging other bodies, Anzu whispered to herself, "It would be nice if I wasn't all alone."

"You're only alone because you choose it, Anzu."

She turned her head toward the voice, and her pace quickened as fear caused her heart to race and her breath to flutter. Atemu was there again. This time he was keeping pace with her. Their shoulders were just the barest inch apart from one another. Her eyes kept flickering forward and to the side that Atemu was on, avoiding others on her other side.

"Atemu, are you... really here?" Anzu managed to gasp the words out.

Before the apparition could respond, a pedestrian walked through him and the mirage shattered into a thousand pieces and faded away. Anzu kept walking, this time staring forward.

"What is happening to me? What is happening? Am I going mad? Or is he watching me from afar?"


	3. Warned

Anzu pushed her way through the crowds getting off the subway under the financial district of the city. Here, hidden in alleyways or with deceptive 'gentlemen club' facades, were the strip clubs of choice for those looking for something out of the ordinary or with a few extras. Dancing Dolls was one of those. It competed heavily against Pussycat Lounge, their individual VIP backrooms pushing the limits of the law and sometimes breaking it as necessary to secure a group.

As she made her way topside, Anzu couldn't help but wonder what group it was and what would they want of her. Obviously, Diamond had pushed her into this VIP girl position. The other woman had a hand to Anderson's ear; she was his top dancer and consistently brought in clientèle. What Anzu couldn't understand was why anyone would want to work that room. Memories of the night before appeared unbidden in her mind.

_"On your knees, Bitch!"_

_ She had been spinning around a pole on one of several like platforms in the room. Low lights created shadows across her skin that would be lit by the colored lights that pulsated to the beat of the current song. Anzu was wearing nothing more but a blue rhinestone g-string. Diamond had earlier created a make-up masterpiece that included well-lined eyes with smaller matching rhinestones and Anzu hair was in two side buns like some animation character with blue ribbons tied through. Even with her heavy layers of cosmetics, they could not conceal the sudden surprise on her face to be called down from her dancing platform. _

_ Back here, in the VIP room, the setting was more intimate and gaudy than out on the main floor. Music was still at a fairly high volume, but you could still easily hear one another over it. Mirrors lined the walls, and the platforms were set up in the room with five or six red velvet-cushioned chairs. Drinks and food would be served on a counter that circled the dance area. It made for difficult mount and dismount. In addition, dancing on one of these platforms proved a challenge due to the very little space for free movement. _

_ "Did I stutter? I said get down on your knees," the man demanded once more as he stood up. _

_ Flustered, Anzu did as she was told and gingerly slid down with the pole to her back, her knees resting on the illuminated dance surface. He unzipped the trousers to his gray Armani suit. She blinked in confusion. He pulled out his erect cock. _

_ With a grin, he sneered, "Well... suck it, little girl."_

_ "But..." she tried to protest. However, he grabbed her by the back of her head and forced her face into his flesh. _

_ "One bite, one nibble... and I'll tell Anderson how worthless his new VIP girl is."_

_ She remembered earlier that night, the owner announcing in the dressing room that Anzu would be a new VIP girl. The other dancers clapped and hooted for her as Anderson pulled her to the side and sternly told her before slapping her ass, "You give them whatever they want, Geisha. Else you're fucking out of here. Diamond says you're good, and I'm giving you one shot."_

_ Anzu opened her mouth._

He had thrown a hundred-dollar bill at her knees when she finished giving him what he wanted. She had made four times her usual amount that night. After her shift was finished, she had run to the bathroom and vomited before making her way home.

Home, where she tried to take her life and where Atemu had appeared to her. Anzu rubbed her arms self-consciously, remembering the pain from his fingers. It could have just been a dream that manifested into reality. She had heard of such things on the television. These types of occurrences tended to mark a psychotic break with reality for the victims. She could hear the slap of her boots on the sidewalk as she glanced sidelong through her hair at the street and buildings around her, just in case he might appear again. Then, her eye caught the familiar neon sign of Dancing Dolls; the classic pose of a woman's leg flickering up and down while in a reclining position cast a pink glow over the recessed doorway. The light flickered off the cuff-links of the bouncer semi-hidden in the shadows.

Bopping her head slightly, Anzu greeted him. "Hello, Martin."

"Yo! GG, you ready for a hell of a night? Bossman got a crowd going down!" Martin exclaimed to her while he clapped his large hands together.

Martin was a big man with a booming voice. Anzu always felt very tiny compared to him. Tonight, he was dressed in a light tan Brooks Brothers suit which offset his dark complexion. His face and head were clean-shaven, and the gaudy pink light reflected off of his scalp. Long used to seeing girls coming and going over the years, his dark eyes still twinkled but rarely were any non-superficial expression displayed.

"Do you know who it is?" Anzu asked. "Diamond called me earlier about it and to come in early."

"Nah, not yet" Martin shrugged.

She nodded in response as Martin pushed open the doorway. As she was passing under his outstretched arm, Anzu felt his hand come down on her shoulder. Her eyes were downcast and did not see the flash of a golden eye appear and disappear just as quickly on his forehead. Anzu stopped and looked up at him, a query in her eyes.

"Look... um..." Martin began, "Look, I don't normally go interfering in the bossman's business, but maybe you should go home tonight. Fake an illness or something, GG. I don't have a good feeling about these VIPs coming in and …" he paused and glanced at her up and down, seeing the pale skin stretched over bones that could use a thicker buffer of fat than she had, "... I don't want to see you get hurt."

Anzu sighed and leaned against the frame. She bowed her head slightly, hiding her face behind her black bangs before glancing up through them. The barest glance of her blue eyes met his black ones.

"You know if I called in sick that Anderson would fire me immediately and I'd just end up somewhere else..."

She shoved her hands in her pockets, feeling the slip of paper that Officer Mackinaw had given her with the dance school information. The scrap of a dream rested in her hands.

Martin glanced up and down the street and sighed. "Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing."

Giving him a smile, Anzu replied, "Don't worry about me. I better get in and meet up with Diamond."

He gave a quiet chuckle, "Not sure what came over me. Nostalgia I guess. Go on in, girlie."

Martin released his hold on her and waved her into the darkened interior of the club. It took a few moments for Anzu's eyes to adjust to the darkness. At the moment, it was still not opened for the public so very few lights were lit. Just a few exposed bulbs by the bar and the holiday lights the hung along the walls. Chairs were still stacked on small tables scattered around three main stages where large stage lights were trained on them. A bartender was behind the counter, but Anzu didn't recognize him and dismissed him as a fill-in. She made her way toward the back and slipped into a nondescript door with a sign that stated 'Employee's Only'.

"GG!" A familiar voice squealed at her entrance.

Anzu turned her head toward the voice and saw Diamond bouncing over to her. Diamond's movements were punctuated by a jiggle of her overly large breasts; Anzu remembered that Anderson had insisted she get the implants done last year. Tall, lithe, and with bleached blond hair that hung pass her shoulders, Diamond was a porn star dream. Currently, she was dressed in a tight white t-shirt and blue jeans.

"Hi, Diamond!" Anzu called back to the other woman.

Diamond reached Anzu and grabbed her by the arm. Anzu tried not to wince and internally breathed a sigh of relief that Diamond hadn't noticed.

"C'mon, I need your help getting ready. You took so long getting here that I went ahead and ordered your favorite from Little Mario's down the road: Eggplant Parmesan. 'Though how you stand it I have no idea. Ugh, eggplant." Diamond wrinkled her nose at the thought of the vegetable.

Anzu followed her into the dressing area which was empty of other dancers at the hour. She noticed that Diamond had several of her favorite costumes strewn across her table and that the woman had taken the liberty of picking out several outfits for her as well. On top of a dresser, two plastic containers smelling of tomato sauce, garlic, and oregano waited with forks sticking out between the lid and base. Anzu went straight for the food; it had been about three days since she last ate.

Diamond grinned at her. "Hungry much?"

While Anzu ate, Diamond posed with various scrimps of fabric over her to which Anzu would give a thumbs up or shake her head in response. Finally, they settled on a red and gold thread sequined bra piece that was complemented by a pair of sheer red harem pants with gold accents and gold g-string. Anzu tried not to laugh when Diamond went into the communal shoe closet and began tossing out pairs of heels until she found a set of six-inch gold ones.

"Who is going to clean up this mess?" Anzu asked Diamond while giggling.

Diamond glanced around, her gray eyes giving way to a contrite but teasing expression. "Opps! Well, we'll have to leave it for one of the new girls to deal with. We're VIP after all, and you, my piggy friend and partner, need to get ready too."

As the two finally settled on a blue crystal ensemble with a sheer, white skirt that was hemmed with little crystals for Anzu and a clock beeped, notifying them that a couple of hours had passed. Other dancers began to trickle in, the sibilant tones of their laughter and playful banter filled the room. One girl had pulled out a small bag filled with white power and over one of the vanity mirrors was setting of individual lines using a small razor. She called out over to Anzu and Diamond, offering a hit to them of the cocaine.

"In a minute, Misty, GG and I need to finish up. Big gig tonight upstairs." Diamond called back to the petite redhead. She nodded in reply and bent over, sniffing the powder through a thin straw.

Anzu quickly dressed in her outfit while Diamond did likewise, when the blond turned around and saw her, she gasped out in surprise.

"GG, what the hell happened to you?" She snapped, "You can't go out there looking like that with those things on your arms." Diamond pointed at the bruises on Anzu's forearms.

"Oh... yeah... some guy grabbed me this morning on the way home..." Anzu lamely lied, "I guess I didn't realize he bruised me."

Diamond pursed her lips and cupped her chin as she looked over Anzu. Her eyes darted over the room before settling on a pair of arm warmers made of dark blue satin and tied with white ribbon. She snapped her fingers and grabbed them off of the closet door where they were hanging.

"These will do, hold out your arms and let's get these on you." Diamond then expertly adjusted them to Anzu's thin arms and tied them tight, nodding to herself over her handiwork.

Diamond looked Anzu over, a slight frown on her lips, "You look a little more pale than usual, GG... Want me to do your make up for tonight?"

"Sure..."

"Oh wait. Hey, Misty, bring that powder over here," the blond called out to the dancer with the blow.

Anzu sat down at the makeup table where Misty laid out the mirror with two lines of powder. Diamond grabbed the straw laying next to them, pulled her hair back with her other hand, and sniffed up a line. As she rose back up, she handed the oriental girl the other straw and rubbed her nose.

"Your turn."

Twirling the straw with her hand, Anzu looked down at the cocaine and hesitated. This wasn't the first time she had done this, but she didn't usually use this drug. She preferred alcohol and prescriptions over what she felt were harder ones. Diamond cocked an eyebrow toward her and she could see Misty waiting impatiently so she could get back to getting ready. Anzu bent over the mirror and quickly sniffed up the powder, feeling it burn in her nostril and the sudden euphoria that often accompanied it.

Sitting back up, Anzu watched Misty grab the mirror and walk back to the other side of the room. She looked in the mirror and noticed a small trickle of blood coming out of her nose. Anzu grabbed a tissue and dabbed the blood away. As her eyes refocused on the mirror, she saw a familiar face standing behind Diamond as she fussed with her hair. His violet eyes were hard with disapproval and he shook his head in disappointment as he crossed his tanned, bare arms at his chest. Anzu gasped and turned quickly to face behind her, knocking the brush out of Diamond's hand in the process.

"Yo! GG, watch it will ya. What was that about?" Diamond snapped.

Anzu looked where girls were simply walking back and forth in front of a dresser and racks full of costumes. Atemu was not there.

"Nothing... I … nothing..."


	4. Protected

Diamond and Anzu sat on a couple of stools at the bar sipping drinks. Anzu had developed a fondness for the sickly, sweet amaretto on the rocks, and Diamond's was a dirty martini. Around them, dancers and clients mingled around the small tables, waitresses wearing skimpy maid's outfits maneuvered around them serving up drinks and finger foods, and the pulsing rhythm of the music's bass kept in time to one's heartbeat. Multicolored lights reflected off of the costumes of dancers on the stage as they twirled and strutted in front of the mirrored walls. Dollars floated in the air landing at their feet or the bolder would slip the money into g-strings and bra straps.

Anzu felt slightly detached from the scene around her. It was a feeling she had whenever she had drank too much or took too many pills, but tonight it was due to cocaine. One difference was her skin felt like ants were crawling on it, and every few seconds she would shift on her stool. Diamond was wearing a huge smile that made her overly done red lips look plastic. Men would come by and talk to the two women and Diamond would flutter her bejeweled eyelashes as she would caress their chests. A bill would often find itself in the blonde's costume's straps.

Fishing a cherry from her drink and popping it in her mouth, Anzu licked her fingers clean and chewed it slowly. Every few moments, she would look toward the balcony of the second floor that overlooked the main stages. Her fingers twitched, and she dug into her cuticles with her nails. When her share of the clients would wonder by she would plaster that same soulless smile that Diamond had and go through the same motions. She knew eventually the VIP guests would arrive and they would be called upstairs to entertain the party. The thought caused her to quickly gulp her drink down and flag the new bartender for another one.

A group of well-dressed men tumbled into the club at that moment, their hands holding bottles of various alcohol and the herb smell of marijuana drifted over to the women. Anzu's head turned sharply to watch them enter, and she recognized one of the men as an up and coming actor. The rest were unknown to her, so she assumed they were his entourage. Diamond stood up straighter and Anzu could see her smiling in her peripheral vision. Anderson had wandered over to greet the party, his greasy gray hair catching red, green, and blue lights rotating their illuminations in the club. He adjusted his pants just below his growing pot belly and waved to Diamond and Anzu to join them.

Diamond leaned over and yelled in Anzu's ear over the music, "Show time!"

She leaped off the stool and started walking over to the new group which was standing in a quiet part of the club. Anzu slipped off of her stool and followed the red and gold clothed woman, herself a less flamboyant and more subdued ghost of blue and silver. As Diamond got closer to the men, Anderson reached out and pulled her close to his stout body and introduced her to the crowd as his number one girl. Diamond gushed and flirted with the group. She held her hand out like a lady to the leader.

"I'm here to make all, and I do mean each and every one, of your dreams come true tonight," Diamond purred as the Actor kissed the top of her hand.

"Ah here she is," Anderson announced as Anzu approached, "Our exotic flower from the Orient. Gentlemen, this is Geisha Girl."

"Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you all," Anzu greeted them, her accent a stark contrast to Diamond's American one.

One of the men behind the famous man leered at her and winked at her. Anzu felt a shiver of revulsion at his stare and turned to pretend to listen to Anderson and the other man discussed the cost of the private VIP room and her and Diamond's services. An extra bartender was also to be brought up there to run a small bar for their pleasure along with a couple of waitresses. She could already see a couple of the help up there preparing the area for their guests. Anzu hoped a repeat of last night would not happen, but this was the first time she'd seen the whole loft rented to one group. Usually, it was those who had special memberships that would be in the loft.

Feeling a prickling sensation on the back of her neck, Anzu turned and looked at the crowd milling about. She knew every dancer by their stage name there. Many of the men at the tables were regulars that she knew by positions they held in their industries, like CEO, Accountant, and Janitor. It was easier that way to keep anonymity for everyone involved else the men might see them as their wives, sisters, and daughters and the dancers might see them as brothers, fathers, and uncles. More than one girl had flipped out in the dressing room after seeing a family member in the crowd who didn't know she was a dancer. Most of them never came back for another shift there.

It was in this crowd of the known and unknown that she saw a glimpse of him materialize for a moment in the center of the room surrounded by people. Instead of the white and gold Egyptian clothing she last saw him in and continued to see him in these last twenty-four hours, he was dressed in the familiar suit of leather shirt with up-collared dark navy jacket and slacks. Anzu gasped and started to walk toward the mirage, her hand reaching toward him, when Diamond jabbed her in the ribs with her elbow. She sharply turned to her fellow dancer in response.

"Don't fuck this up, GG," Diamond hissed in her ear, "They're ready to go upstairs and you're just standing here staring in the crowd. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Diamond made a play of girl-on-girl action as she stroked Anzu's cheek and slid her hand down the side of her left breast and over her bare midriff before grasping her hand. The men behind them catcalled and whooped at their display.

Anzu murmured into her ear, "Sorry, Diamond. I'm ready."

She felt Anderson slap her and Diamond's asses as they followed the actor's group upstairs into the loft. He shouted up to them that the dancers would do anything they wanted but they should be tipped well. Anzu bit her lip on that remark, thinking again about last night and the humiliation she had endured.

As she entered the loft space, she saw that Diamond had already run to the center dance platform and started her show. Other women wove between the spaces of the clients serving up drinks. The Actor had set himself up in a corner couch where he was being waited upon. Anzu smirked a little, knowing Diamond wouldn't miss an opportunity to be the center of his attention as the blond stalked off her dance platform and spun her toward it. As she was mounting the platform, she saw Diamond undulating in front of the man and the low lights did little to conceal the lust in his eyes or the eyes of his friends.

Hours swam by as she danced for the men. Drinks were passed to her of varying strengths. She knew she was drunk. If she didn't have her natural ability to stay balanced, she would have fallen from the platform and pole long ago. She had long divested herself of most of her costume, and the only pieces remaining were her g-string, arm warmers, and a sheer, blue silk scarf she was using for her dance moves. She noticed that the waitresses who were serving the drinks from the bartender were in an even more state of undress than they usually were in and that Diamond was completely nude over at the main table.

Hands pulled Anzu off of the platform and into the lap of the hanger-on that had leered at her earlier. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp but his hands and his friends kept her firmly in place. She kept a plastered smile on her face as she had been taught but a slow panic was seeping its way through her alcohol induced sense of safety. They were pawing at her thighs and breasts. She looked desperately for guidance from Diamond but saw she was occupied in a session of fellatio with the Actor. A heavy haze of sexual energy had reached its crescendo in the VIP loft and even the waitresses were being pulled into subgroups of the entourage. Everyone else looked like they didn't care, but Anzu could feel herself fighting her fight or flight reaction.

"Baby, be nice," the man muttered in her ear as his hand snaked its way up her thigh and began to tease at the sequined elastic there. Anzu attempted to redirect his hand by shifting her legs and crossing them. The other two men with them grumbled at her ploy.

One pocketed-faced one whined to a greasy haired other, "I thought her boss guaranteed we'd get what we wanted."

"Yeah, John," the other directed this to the one with the busy hands, "She's supposed to do what we want."

She could feel John stiffening in annoyance with her attempt to slip from the situation.

"You're not behaving very well for a geisha are you, Geisha Girl," John sneered at her as his other hand snacked into her hair and yanked her head back.

Anzu gasped in pain from the pull and nearly shrieked when his companions reached over and twisted her exposed nipples. This was the nightmare other dancers talked about. Last night was just a lusty customer; tonight this was what others talked about happening the back rooms of all the seedy strip joints in the city.

"No, this … no." Anzu protested.

"You don't get a choice." Someone told her this, she didn't know who though.

In the next moment, John was shoving his tongue passed her lips and she gagged against him, trying to breathe through her nose as his friends manhandled her body. Finding a last surge of self-respect, Anzu found strength enough to push them off of her and she leaped up, her eyes wild like a caged animal. She tried to remember where the exit was at but the bass was pulsating through the floor and all the corners were dark, throwing her off from remembering where she entered the loft.

She turned, facing the trio as they approached her. She could see the lust and anger in their faces as they were lit up every few moments by a colored light that was keeping time to the music. Anzu started to step backwards toward the railing. She couldn't figure out what to do to escape them. She felt the cool metal of the pole touch her bare back. She was out of room and the three were coming at her from all sides.

In a desperate move, she tried to run pass John, but a strong arm reached out and yanked her back, nearly wrenching her shoulder from her socket.

"Stupid bitch, we'll teach you about disrespecting us."

She was twisted and shoved against the railing, leaving her backside exposed to them while his goons kept her hands and arms held against her upper back. It seemed that all noise vanished in her adrenaline fueled state, but other noises become louder. The sound of the zipper as it was pulled down behind her, the laughter and flirtations of the patrons below her, and the plans the men holding her captive had for her echoed in her ears. Anzu looked over the crowd below, helpless and without any choices.

Atemu was standing there again. He was staring up at her with rage-filled, violet eyes. She could see his fists clinched at his sides. The multicolored lights played havoc with the multiple shades of his spiky hair. Tears fell down her eyes as she looked at him.

Her voice barely a whisper, fear attempting to seize up her vocal cords, "Atemu, please, save me."

The men behind her were laughing and comparing her to an animal. Atemu was down in the crowd surrounded by various shapes of men and women that now seemed like paper cut-outs. Anzu's heartbeat flooded her ears. She saw Atemu give her a slight nod and gold light began to seep from his forehead as the Eye of Anubis appeared; the mark of his magical heritage. She could feel the hot flesh of John's erection against her ass as he pulled back the bare scrap of fabric covering her. Anzu closed her eyes and waited for what was next to come.

A lethal voice, so familiar, enunciated each word for the trio, "You will not have her."

Anzu's head snapped up at the voice as she heard one of her attackers yell out in pain. She felt John being yanked off of her, and her arms were suddenly free. Turning around, she saw them flying into mirrored walls, which cracked from the force of the impacts. All movement and talking stopped in the VIP area as men and women stared at the strange man standing in front of Anzu. Throwing his arm back, he offered his hand to her.

"Anzu, it is time to go," Atemu demanded.

Nodding, she reached out and intertwined her fingers through his as he pulled her toward him. She was suddenly self-conscious of her naked state. Anzu could feel the ridges of his muscles under his coat as she wrapped her arm around his and allowed him to lead her toward the exit. Her mind was working in overtime, the alcohol daze completely eradicated by the near rape and his physical manifestation. Other people could see him, she couldn't believe it.

The other entourage members were pushing the women away from them as they stood up and started walking toward Anzu and Atemu. She could hear knuckles cracking and she clung tighter to her friend. Her eyes were wide in fear. The Actor had pushed Diamond off of him and quickly pulled his trousers up. Diamond stared at Anzu with angry silver eyes. She knew that her stripper friend was blaming her for the loss profits already.

"Just who the hell are you and what the fuck are you doing with my whore," he snarled at Atemu.

"We're leaving."

"The hell you are. We bought and paid for the bitch, now get the fuck out of here."

Anzu heard Atemu's low chuckle at the challenge. He extended his right hand and opened it palm up. He exclaimed something in Egyptian, she could only assume, and the entire area transformed into a negative image of itself as all occupants stopped their movements, their eyes glazing over. Atemu's form wavered for a moment and she clung tighter to his fading body. Within moments, he regained solid form and turned to her as the white vision returned to normal, everyone frozen around them.

"Your clothes, where are they?" He asked her.

"Downstairs,. We have to get pass Anderson, my boss."

"Let's go."

He led her pass the petrified people. She felt like she was following him out of a wax museum as they made their way to the exit. As they were descending the stairs, Anderson confronted them.

"What the f-," was all he managed before Atemu silenced him with another mystical attack, leaving the man frozen on the steps. They made their way around him.

Once downstairs, she pointed out the door to the dressing area, and they quickly made their way to the access door and slipped between people who hadn't noticed the commotion upstairs. Inside, Anzu quickly pulled on her jeans, shirt and jacket. She started knocking down items as she desperately searched for her purse.

Atemu glanced toward the door and said, "Anzu, hurry, I don't know how long they will stay frozen."

She nodded in response and finally her hands grasped the small black bag. She let out small squeal of triumph, and Atemu grabbed her hand once more, dragging her out of the room and back out of the club. She noticed that Martin was standing stock still. His eyes had rolled into the back of his head, the white only showing, and the black man was completely unresponsive to their passing. Anzu wanted to say something but bit her tongue and simply let Atemu lead the way. He looked at her, she could see a question in his eyes, and she pointed the direction toward her apartment. He gave her a quick nod and started running with her, the two hand in hand as they dodged pedestrians.

"You're real, I can touch you. You're back! Atemu! Atemu, you're back!" Anzu gasped, finding her voice again, as he dragged her along the street.

"Anzu, I've been dead three thousand years. I was dead when you met me, and I'm still dead now. I'm a spirit, so don't think this physical presence is going to last. Now, run and lead me back to your flat"


	5. Manifested

They sprinted away to the subway station. Atemu stopped up short realizing that these were underground rail tunnels and as she dug into her purse for toll change, he gave her a small shrug that seemed to say he wasn't expecting it. As they sped along the rails, he held her tight in his arms. Anzu laid her head against his shoulder, taking comfort in the feel of him and that she wasn't going insane. To a stranger, they looked the part of a loving couple in each other's arms. They said no words on their journey. His statement that she could not rely upon him remaining here said enough to her.

An overhead announcement heralded the impending arrival of their stop, and Anzu urged Atemu toward the exit doors. Coming to a stop, the subway compartment created a small pull back which caused Anzu to lose her balance for a moment. She crashed into Atemu, and he held her tighter against him. He seemed to have become stronger in the world; she could smell the remembered scent of desert sands on his skin.

She looked at him, her blue eyes wet with tears. Their noses were a few inches apart. Anzu had forgotten that she was actually taller than him by about ten centimeters. When he was pulling her out of the club, he seemed so much taller, but then, Atemu had a way about his presence that made him larger than life. Her reverie were suddenly interrupted as another passenger shoved them out into the terminal, pushing them out of the doorway so others could get by more easily.

Anzu pointed toward the stairwell exiting the subway station, and Atemu led the way up to the surface. As they exited, Anzu could see that dawn was approaching as the sky overhead was no longer a dark indigo but rapidly turning steel gray. They made their way down the avenue. Her fingers were still laced through his, and she couldn't help her wonderment that Atemu's hand was warm. She tightened her grip on him, taking comfort in the solid feel of him.

Her apartment building came into view, the dilapidated brownstone crammed next to others like it. Bricks were chipped on the face, years of neglect and abuse on the building showed in each crack. Sitting on the steps of each one, bums and pushers sat smoking and drinking even at this early morning hour. It was still not late enough for them to scuttle like beetles into their hiding places. She stopped Atemu in front of hers and took the lead, stepping over a sleeping bum whose hands were wrapped around a brown-papered bottle. Atemu's expression displayed disgust at the representation of the last dredges of society. Anzu had been living in the city long enough that her eyes didn't even notice them anymore.

As they made their way up the staircase, Anzu fished her keys out of her purse. Atemu had released her hand so she could exchange its placement on the banister. They passed more people on the stairs and the smells of various ethnic types of cooking wafted from underneath closed doors to tickle the nose with heady scents of garlic and paprika. Reaching the fifth floor, Anzu opened the door to apartment 5C, the brass plate missing and the designation written in permanent marker. A waft of unkempt apartment smell assaulted her as she flipped the light switch, and she felt her cheeks redden as she took in the state of her studio.

Dirty laundry was strewn over the couch and bed. Unwashed sheets were twisted in a pile. Pizza boxes and takeout food containers littered the coffee table and dinette. Trash and dirty dishes overflowed in the kitchen. The most embarrassing display was the various bottles of alcohol tucked into every available part of the studio. Some were empty, others were on their side half-filled with liquid, and others were unopened. Light from the bare overhead bulbs twinkled in the amber, gold, and clear inebriants.

Anzu's mouth worked to make an excuse or a sound as Atemu's disapproving stare cut into her.

"Uh... I... I need to check the answering machine," she fumbled with her words and ran to the back of the flat to the bedside nightstand where a blinking red light awaited her.

She pressed the button and Katsuya Jonouchi's voice began to speak. Hearing the tinkling of glass clinking against other glass, Anzu looked up to see Atemu silently picking up all the liquor bottles in the apartment and taking them to the kitchenette, lining them up on the counter.

"Anzu. Where have you been? It's Jonouchi. I haven't heard from you in weeks. I contacted your parents and they haven't heard from you in at least two."

Atemu slid pass Anzu to grab the bottles in the sleeping area. She could see the silent rage in his eyes, the violet slightly tinged with red. She swallowed hard.

"Yugi should have called you by now, but if you haven't heard, he has decided to marry Rebecca. I think she is a little young for him; four years can make a difference. I do have to admit she did..." Jonouchi coughed. "...mature significantly the last couple of years."

Without a word, Atemu began to empty the contents of the liquor into the sink. On his left, a diminishing group of filled and partially filled bottles were dumped and moved to the growing pile on his right of empty glass. Self-conscious of what he was doing, Anzu grabbed a garbage bag from the kitchen and began to pick up the trash in the studio.

"I guess I just always imagined that it would be you and Yugi getting married, if you ask me. But everyone has their own path. He is running his grandpa's shop between tournaments and you, you're on your way to being a famous dancer."

Anzu paused in her trash collection; a few tears welled up in her eyes. Atemu watched her change in reaction to Jonouchi's statements.

"I better be going. Call me back soon, Anzu. You are missed. Bye." A subtle click and long beep marked the end of Jonouchi's message.

She dropped her bag of food trash near the door and picked up an empty laundry basket, making her rounds gathering the dirty clothes. She remained silent. Atemu finished emptying the last bottle and approached her. Anzu felt his hand on her cheek before she noticed he was next to her.

"They have no idea what you're really doing in New York, do they?"It was the first thing he had said to her since their flight from Dancing Dolls. Anger was still in his voice, but the tone was softened by the realization that Anzu had been hiding her lifestyle and misfortunes from her friends back in Japan.

Anzu stopped picking up dirty clothes and sat down on the edge of the bed, placing the basket beside her. She looked down at her hands. Just as she lifted her head to speak, the phone began to ring. Neither one moved. One, two, three, four, five. Her message clicked on and then Anderson's angry voice filled the air.

"Geisha Girl, I don't know who the hell you think you are or your friend, but you're fucking fired." They could hear him slamming the phone down.

She twisted her fingers together and sighed. "I guess I don't have anything to tell them now, do I?"

Stepping away and pulling a garbage bag out of the box on the counter, Atemu began dropping bottles in one by one.

"All things considered, this is fortuitous," he replied, his voice becoming sharper.

Anzu snorted in the back of her throat and violently threw clothes into the basket as she leaped off the bed. Her studio was beginning to take on a tidy appearance, opposite of where they started, but at the moment, she couldn't see that. Atemu frowned and opened a small window in the kitchen to clear the stale air. Once she picked up the last sock off the floor, Anzu began to pace back and forth, wringing her hands again.

"You know," Anzu snapped suddenly, "Not all of us got to go on to a happy home when you left. I went back to the same school and another part-time job, and I may have been with my friends but there are some things that I don't tell them about home."

Atemu turned to face her, hearing the accusation in her voice, as he made his way toward her bathroom.

"Yeah," she continued, her voice becoming louder and shriller, "So I scrimped and saved to make my dream come true. The dream everyone else was so sure of... except my parents. But they had to keep face so I was allowed to come to America, to New York." Anzu spread her arms outward. "Oh, it wasn't so bad when I first got here. I was in dorms at the dance school, at Juilliard, the premier school for dance and the arts."

She twirled and landed on the couch, picking up one of her dance magazines off the coffee table. She began ripping pages from it and tossing them behind her as she continued. The sounds of pills being emptied out of their bottles into the toilet added a plunking soundtrack to her diatribe.

"And in six months all that ended when I refused the advances of one of my instructors. When I refused to sleep with him, my future ended. He did everything he could to get me kicked out of the school and he succeeded."

She could hear the sound of her toilet flushing and then Atemu approached the couch, placing his hands over the back of it. He looked down at Anzu, his expression unreadable.

"And so you then reduced yourself to this life, dancing for dollars thrown at your feet in skimpy clothing? Living among drugs and alcohol, destroying yourself bit by bit instead of reaching out to your friends like a sane person would have done?"

"Dishonor myself before them?" Anzu hissed back, "I couldn't do that. Give up and fail here? No, so I've been doing what I can."

"What you can? Anzu, you're killing yourself. If not by body, by soul!"

Anzu jumped up from the couch and ran around it, coming within a foot of Atemu.

"What do you care? Why are you even here? You had your duel with Yugi and left us," Anzu yelled back at him.

This time, Atemu looked down. Anzu felt some control coming back to her when his intense eyes were not on her.

"You are right, I did leave," he stated, his voice barely above a whisper. Atemu raised his head and caught her eyes, and she saw sorrow darkening them.

"I don't know how I'm here right now." He stepped away from her, turning his back and looking out the window over the bed. "I remember," he continued, "stepping into the Fields of Aaru and seeing my priests and friends from before I died. It was pleasant amidst the reeds. An eternal sun illuminated where I was, and I was at rest."

She could hear the wistfulness in his voice.

Anzu stepped toward him, her hand reaching out, as she said, "Atemu, I'm sorry."

He waved her away.

"Then, I felt a pull in my soul and found myself here. I realized you were trying to kill yourself with drink and drugs. I had to stop you. I became physical for a moment and was able to save you last night. Then, I was back among the reeds. Yet, I could still feel you and your pain. I yearned to reach back out to you, my friend, the one who gave me my name back."

Anzu touched her cartouche, the twin to the one that she gave Atemu. She realized that he was still wearing the one they had willed his name upon. Without her gift, they may not had been able to give him his name back at that crucial moment when the world hung in the balance.

"During these last twenty-four hours, I kept feeling myself fade from the fields and appear in your city, if only for a moment. Then, when you were at that place where the men threw money at the concubines, when you were almost forcibly taken." Atemu's fist clinched at the memory. "I felt myself pulled into this world completely. I had to save you."

Anzu frowned slightly and softly said, "You didn't have to save me. You didn't have to give up your rest."

Atemu turned his head to face her from over her shoulder, the rising sun creating a glowing halo around him, and replied, "I had to protect you, Anzu. I may not understand why I am here..."

She saw his eyes shift, she knew him well enough to know that was not the full truth but did not interrupt him.

"But I hope that I am not here needlessly."

She shook her head and this time touched him. He took a sudden intake of breath.

"You're not here needlessly, Atemu," Anzu said, "I can get out of this. I can find a way."

He waved a sunlit hand toward the trash bags that contained the empty bottles of her sins and stated simply, "Are you sure?"

"With you here, I can. I know I can with your help," Anzu cried out. She could see the windowsill through his body, slowly transforming from fuzzy and faint to sharper and stark. Under her hand, he felt less real and more like she was touching heavy air. Tears erupted from her eyes as he continued to fade.

"You have to find your inner strength once again, Anzu. You cannot rely upon me."

Light flooded the room, and it seemed like a small sun had appeared within her apartment. Everything was bathed in a golden light and she watched Atemu fade away within it, the Eye of Anubis on his forehead glowing brightest of all.

"Anzu..." His voice was a last whisper before he vanished completely.

She felt her hand clinch through where his shoulder was at before. He was gone again.


	6. Reached

Her fingers were dialing Yugi's number before she realized she was doing it. Rings echoed from the receiver as she contemplated hanging up the phone. She realized it was probably pretty late in the evening for most in Japan. Usually, she would call much earlier than this hour, but after Atemu's manifestation and subsequent vanishing, she felt like she needed to talk to Yugi.

On the fourth ring, she heard Yugi's voice, "Moshi, moshi."

Anzu responded in kind, "Hi, Yugi, it's Anzu."

"Anzu! Are you OK? It's after ten o'clock."

She laughed a little before replying, "It's only eight in the morning here."

"Oh!" Yugi laughed. Anzu could imagine him running a nervous hand through his hair as he worked out the time difference.

"I got your message," Anzu said, her voice wavering slightly, "Congratulations."

"Thanks, we have to wait a couple more years, but that just gives us more time to plan."

"Yugi..."

"What is it, Anzu? You seem a bit off," he replied.

"I... am," she admitted after a pause.

She could hear Yugi's concern for her through the phone. "What is it? What can I do to help?"

Anzu lay down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Her other hand was playing with her cartouche.

"Do you ever feel like Atemu is still with us?" She finally asked.

Obviously, this was not what Yugi was expecting. "Ano, no, not really. Did something happen?"

She turned over on her stomach, looking at the Egyptian interpretation of her name. Light caught the engraved edges and they reflected upon her face.

"No, nothing has happened," Anzu lied to him, her voice falling flat. Yugi didn't buy it.

After the events of his life that had him living with another spirit in his body, he was more prone to believe the possibilities of mystical events than anyone else. He had seen his soul's counterpart face to face and battled him back to his underworld, freeing him from being a bound spirit to the Millennium Puzzle. If Atemu was reaching back out, Yugi wanted to know about it. Not only was Atemu a spirit he had shared life with, he was his other self and former best friend.

"You're lying," he said to her. "Anzu, I've known you since we have been children. You don't ask idle questions, and any question about my former other self is not idle." She could hear the same firmness that had seeped into Atemu's voice when berating her.

"I have had a few stressful situations lately, and it just had seemed like he was there to support me. A shade of the times when he would protect me."She giggled nervously. "My dreams have been very intense lately," she offered as way of explanation, and then she twisted to look at her cleaned studio behind her. She scoffed lightly at her lame excuse.

"It's not impossible though," Yugi murmured, and Anzu took a sharp intake of breath. "What do we know of magic and spirits? Even sharing my body with another for the time I did, it did not teach me any mysticism of itself. What I do know is that if Pharaoh Atemu was to come back to us, it would have to be something he felt very strongly about to cause him to interfere with this time-line. Previously, he did not have that much of a choice in his imprisonment and being here. He only did it before to save the world from Zorc Necrophades."

"I remember," Anzu replied, her voice sharper than she wanted it to be.

Yugi paused, and then continued. "I'm saying, if Pharaoh Atemu is back, it would because of something he valued more than his own existence. I'm concerned, because last time the world was almost destroyed."

Too low for Yugi to hear it, Anzu said to herself, "What if he was coming back just because I was fucking up..."

"What was that, Anzu?"

"Nothing important," she replied quickly. "Yugi, don't worry, I'm sure it's just my overactive imagination getting the best of me. Maybe a little bit of homesickness there, too," She tempered her lies with truth, hoping that it would be enough to convince Yugi.

Trying to redirect, Anzu continued in a teasing tone, "So, when did you get so smart about spirits?"

Yugi laughed. "I'm not smart, but I did live with one for a fair amount of time." He paused and his voice became solemn, "I am serious though, would you tell me if you saw a ghost?"

"I..." Anzu hesitated, "I would have to see a ghost first." She thought to herself that it technically wasn't a lie since she didn't think of Atemu as a spirit or ghost.

A silence descended on their conversation as both mulled over the topic.

"Anzu, I want you to know I'm always here for you if something is troubling you or if you are having any problems. You can lean on me. I know... we never... but I still care a lot about you."

She could imagine his reaction would be close to or worse than Atemu's reaction to her activities for the last year and a half. There was a point in time, like Jonouchi had mentioned, where everyone had assumed that she and Yugi would have become closer than friends. Anzu had pushed that possibility away in order to pursue her dream. After Atemu left, she fought to suppress her jealousy over Rebecca and later pushed Yugi toward her, convincing him she would be the one for him since the two of them were master duelists. After Atemu left, all the Anzu had left was her dancing. A hole had opened up within her and she didn't understand why it was there.

"Yugi, I'm OK. I have things figured out here. Sometimes, it doesn't work out perfectly but I'll manage." Her tone settled the conversation.

"OK. So, when you are coming back home to visit?" Yugi smoothly changed the topic, "You wouldn't believe what Kaiba has been doing in Domino City."

She laughed, a tinge of the old high-school Anzu coming back. "I can hardly imagine. Oh, could you pick me up a Blue Eyes plushie? You can hold on to it until I come visit."

Anzu could hear the grin in Yugi's voice. "Sure, I'll ask Kaiba personally for it."

She turned back over, staring at the ceiling overhead. "I'll talk to my parents in a few days and see if maybe they might be able to help me with the funds to come back home for a bit. I do miss everyone."

"That's great. Hey, Anzu, I have to go for now, it's getting really late and I have a duel session with Jonouchi tomorrow."

"You two have fun tomorrow. Tell him I say hi and I'll call him soon," she replied.

"Good-night, Anzu."

"Good-bye, Yugi."

Hearing the click signaling the call ending, Anzu cradled the handset against her chest. She felt better after talking to him, even though she hadn't admitted everything that was going on. Knowing that they really did still care helped a fair bit. However, she had other things to worry about that were more important now. She didn't have a job anymore, and she didn't know what to do. She really did not want to go home in shame. All her friends would know that she had been lying to them for over a year, and she couldn't face that. Not yet.

Lying there, she got a whiff of herself and could smell the alcohol and smoke on her from the night before. The smell brought back memories of days drinking and she felt a sudden ripple through her body. A call of her addiction. She sat up quickly and scanned the apartment. Anzu knew Atemu had gotten rid of all her vices in her personal space.

"I'll take a shower, that'll help clear my head." She really didn't want to make him mad at her if he returned by going out and restocking her supplies.

Anzu kicked off her shoes and pulled off her shirt. She suddenly noticed that she hadn't been wearing a bra. It must be still at Dancing Dolls. A small shrug as she wrote the lingerie off. Standing, she slipped out of her jeans and dug into the pockets, an old habit of finding a dollar or two stuffed into them had cemented the repetitive action. Her fingers touched on a crumbled slip of paper.

Pulling it out, she read the note in neat script, "Mikala's Dance Studio." An address was written underneath it. This was the reference that the policewoman she had met gave her. Could she, should she call them. Thoughts raced through her mind, the foremost being rejection. Before she could lose her glow from speaking with Yugi, she grabbed the phone book from under a nightstand and found the number for the studio. She quickly dialed it.

"Good morning, Mikala's Dance Studio," a richly timbered, feminine voice answered.

Anzu stayed silent, suddenly not sure if she should respond.

The voice grew impatient with the silence and repeated the former greeting, "Good morning, Mikala's Dance Studio."

"H-hello," Anzu finally said, "My name is Anzu. Ms..." She paused to remember the name. "Ms. Mackinaw recommended you as a good school for a dancer like myself."

"Ah, that's Theresa-Marie's aunt. I'm Mikala. Sharon is usually good at spotting a dancer, but that doesn't give you an instant in. You will still have to audition for me before I can consider you a student of the school."

"That's fine, I will do my best."

She could sense Mikala nodding on the other end.

"Can you come in today at four pm?" Mikala asked.

Anzu figured that would give her enough time to take a short nap after her shower, and replied, "That will be fine. Could you give me directions?" She wrote them down on the back of the napkin, and the two exchanged goodbyes before hanging up.

Jumping up from the bed, Anzu grabbed a towel from nearby and ran into the bathroom. Turning the nob for hot all the way it would go, she waited until there was a good amount of steam in the room before twisting the cold to tone it down. She grabbed the "good" shampoo and soaps and went through her morning absolutions. As she finished her washing and shaving, she closed her eyes under the spray of warm water and released a small, relaxed sigh. She had a chance at something again, the feeling from it was heady.

With her eyes still closed, she felt the air become heavier. She wondered if it was from the false humidity that she had generated. Then, she could smell the sweet scents of galbanum, myrrh, and lily. Breathing deeply of the fragrance, she smiled to herself. It had been a long time since she had used the good soap but she didn't recall this exotic fragrance to it.

Her reverie was shocked when she felt a trace of a fingertip just above her skin follow the curved line from her underarm to her hip. Anzu could swear she felt the soft touch of lips against her shoulder blade. She wondered but didn't want the thoughts of what or who could be with her to shatter the dream, so she pushed them away and kept her eyes closed. A pair of hands slid across her bare abdomen. Her breathing was becoming irregular and fast as she felt heat building up underneath her skin, completely unaffected by the warm spray of the water. Anzu leaned backward into the source of the touches on her body.

For a moment, she felt physical resistance, like she was resting against a bare chest, but then she fell through thickened air and knocked her head against the tiled wall of the shower. Stars erupted in front of her now wide-opened eyes as darkness swam in front of her vision. There was no one else in the shower with her, and the water rained down on her.

Rubbing her head with one hand, she slammed the other into the wall.

"Damn it."


	7. Danced

Standing in front of the mirror, Anzu quickly twirled her shoulder-length black hair up in a bun. She slipped two lacquered chopsticks through the hair, their red and gold paint creating a stark contrast. Lightly teased bangs created a soft frame around her blue eyes. She decided to forgo any makeup, going "au natural" instead. She stood back from the mirror and took a look at herself. Staring back at her was a young women with lightly oriental features who was a little on the pale side and needing a good week or two of meals. Her breasts were overly large for her frame, a problem for a dancer, and over the years, her frame had become curvy as her hips slightly flared out from her petite waist. She stuck her tongue out at herself.

Anzu's cell phone alarm began to beep. It was time to go to Mikala's studio. Grabbing her dance CDs and purse, she quickly made her way out the door and ran down the stairs to the outside. She had estimated it would take her about forty minutes to get there. Her eyes kept scanning the groups around her as she made her way. Every few moments, Anzu's fingers would reach up and stroke her cartouche. She wondered if he would be there to see her dance, as she tried to work her way out of her mess.

It had seemed that her little white lie to Yugi decided to come to fruition and be truth. Her nap that morning and early afternoon had given her intense dreams. She had dreamed she was in a field of reeds along a large river at night. Thousands of stars twinkled above her; a sight she hadn't seen in a long time but she couldn't remember where. Atemu was with her and his lips were moving but she couldn't hear a word he was saying. Time seemed to speed up and soon the sun was rising over the area. He grabbed her and pulled her close into his arms, before pushing her into the slightly damp earth. It seemed he was hiding her from something overhead. At that moment her alarm went off and she woke up.

She could feel the dream still lingering around her, and it made the real world seem strange and far away. Shaking her head, she descended into the subway terminal and made her away across the island toward the dance studio. Her trip was uneventful and the usual mix of business sleek and gutter glitter were boxed around her in the small car.

Using her phone to check the time after she arrived at her next station, Anzu sprinted up the stairs when she realized that time was close to running out to make it to Mikala's. Running down the street, she came to her final crosswalk that crossed a lane of busy traffic, the dance studio right there at the corner on the other side. She had less than a minute left to get inside the studio; she knew if she was late this would blow her opportunity. Anzu hopped from foot to foot nervously as the seconds ticked by.

"Atemu, it looks like I'm going to fail," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around herself, tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

She bowed her head shamefully; the light was not going to change rapidly enough for her to get to the studio she could see at the corner. Suddenly, she heard the shriek of brakes being pressed too quickly, horns honking in annoyance, and the people around her began to move blinding across the street. She looked up to see the light she needed was red and the green man was lit on the crossing sign. She ran across the street, dodging and slipping pass the crowd. She wasn't going to question this good luck.

Dashing into the sedately faced dance studio, she found herself in a simple waiting room. There was a woman wearing a brightly colored dress decorated with flowers behind the wooden counter. She lifted an eyebrow to Anzu.

"My name is Anzu Mazaki, I have an audition at four o'clock!" She gasped out.

Picking up the phone, the woman spoke into it, "Ms. Mazaki is here for her four o'clock audition." The clock chimed the hour as she relayed her message.

"Sit down, Ms. Mazaki, Madame Mikala will be out shortly."

Anzu sat down in a blue plastic chair and waited for the dance instructor to come out. She began to fidget when ten minutes passed. Just when she thought she couldn't stand it much more, a tall woman reminiscent of African queens entered the room. Her skin was a rich, dark chocolate brown that stood out from the long orange and yellow scarves that wrapped around her yellow leotard. A pair of delicate gold slippers adorned her feet and their ribbons criss-crossed up to her knees. Gold pins held an orange and yellow scarf around her braided hair. Several brass rings were wrapped around her long throat and matching rings decorated her wrists.

"Are you ready to audition, Miss Anzu Mazaki?" the stately woman asked.

Jumping to her feet, Anzu clutched her bag tighter to her and nodded.

"Yes, I am, Madam Mikala," she replied.

A smile tugged at the corners of the dance teacher's lips and she turned, a wave of her hand indicating Anzu should follow, and walked through the doorway that led into a room behind the receptionist.

Digging into her purse, she pulled out several CDs and said to Mikala, "I have my dance CDs, if you have a player, we can begin as soon as you are ready."

A rich laugh was her response, Anzu blinked.

As Anzu changed into her slippers, Mikala walked over to her and held her hands out for her things. She hooked her fingers for everything when Anzu had only gave her the CDs. The younger woman released her purse and bag to the elder and stayed in the center of the room, shifting nervously.

"I have my own CD that I use for auditions, Miss Mazaki," Mikala finally said. "I want to see how well you react to music, how you improvise with your limbs, and if you really are a dancer at heart. When the music starts... you can begin."

Mikala inserted a disc into the player, pressed play, and sat down in a chair next to the player. When the music started and Anzu just stood there, she raised a hand for the dancer to begin.

Anzu tilted her head slightly; listening to the hip-hop freestyle beat and began to move her hips and legs to the music, her arms adding a contrasting movement as she flipped her lower body to a series of drums. She then flipped herself into a handstand, catching herself in an arc and then jumping back into position. As she dropped to the floor for a turn, the music shifted.

Now, the music had transitioned into Spanish rhythms, and Anzu began to tap her feet quickly as her hips and arms moved sinuously. She twirled in slow circles as her arms continued to create a container around her upper body. One foot swung toward the back and then forward again. She was able to anticipate the next shift of music as the pace quickened.

The next transition went into the sultry tones of modern jazz. Her movements were a blend of the hip-hop style with more bends and twists, her slippered feet sliding across the wooden floor. Anzu's upper body twisted independently of her legs as she let herself slip into the music. When she was well into the beats, the music nearly silenced and then sweet orchestral tones filled the room.

It was the music for the Odette Variation from Swan Lake. Pulling herself to pointe, she extended her leg until it was aligned vertically to her other. As she continued the dance, her sissones landed perfectly, and the bittersweet music brought tears as she remembered the story of the ballet. Silence descended as the music ended, there were no more variations, and Anzu stood perfectly in pose for a moment longer. She then released her position and turned before Mikala.

Anzu was rewarded with a small clap and a smile.

"Very good, Miss Mazaki," Mikala said, "You have real talent. There is still need for refinement, but I think this school can offer you that. If you are interested."

A real smile brightened Anzu's face at this success, and she jumped into the air.

"Thank you, Madame Mikala! Thank you! Yes, I'm interested!" Anzu exclaimed.

Mikala took Anzu back out to the main room, allowing her time first to put her street shoes back on and to gather her things. She handed her a sheaf of papers.

"This is our registration packet. It contains your forms and tuition information." Mikala paused. "Do you have a visa for the country?"

"I have one, but it's going to expire soon...unless I'm back in a school," Anzu replied, her lips in a frown.

Patting her shoulder, the woman smiled, "Don't worry, we'll figure it out. I'll discuss some options with you tomorrow. As you can see, my staff has left for the day as I don't normally hold night classes today."

Nodding, Anzu and Mikala made their goodbyes, with Anzu promising to bring the paperwork back the next day as she placed it in her bag. Before she left, Mikala stopped her, picking up her cartouche where it rested against her chest, over her heart.

"This is a fine symbol and a charm of protection, I can feel it. Keep it close to you, young swan."

Anzu laughed nervously, but smiled. "I always do, it means the world to me."

They exited the studio, and Mikala locked the building. A simple raise of her hand was her method of waving, and Anzu's response was a more excitable sway of her arm as she ran across the avenue before the light changed.

She was so excited about the progress of her day that as she descended into the subway below, she failed to notice the two shadows step away from an alleyway and follow her downstairs.


	8. Held

Anzu was skipping; it had been a while since she had done that. Crisp air bit her nose while she swung her bag back and forth with each rise and fall. Night was beginning to settle, and the neon lights were calling out to potential customers to stop in for noodles, pizza, beer, and trinkets. She had exited the subway only minutes ago, and at her current pace, she would be home in about fifteen or twenty minutes. Stopping her brisk pace, she spontaneously went to pointe and spun herself in a circle.

On her second pass, hands grabbed her and before she could scream had thrown her into an alleyway. A smaller hand covered her mouth after she took a quick inhalation of breath. She could feel the lump of fear settling in her throat, just above her collarbones. As her eyes adjusted to the darker alley, she was able to see that she was being assaulted by a man and woman.

The woman was slight in size, but Anzu could see the fine lines of muscles in her arms. Her partner, the male, was much taller, perhaps just over six feet. It was hard to tell for sure at the moment. Both of them sported a large number of tattoos; the majority was tribal designs that wrapped around their necks and biceps. Their clothing consisted of ripped jeans and leather vests.

Leaning close to Anzu's ear, the woman hissed, "Anderson sent us to remind you of your confidentiality clause."

Confusion clouded Anzu for a moment before she realized what they meant, without needing them to explain it. She could feel fear piercing her confusion, like the sensation of prickling up and down her arms.

"You tell the cops about the sidelines, and we'll find you and make sure you never squeal again. Got it, Gook?"

She shook her head in the affirmative. Then, she watched as the punk woman picked up her cartouche pendant.

"I like this. Think I'll take it." She ripped it off of Anzu's throat.

Anzu began to struggle, trying to get it back and her reward was a punch in the face from the male partner who had not spoken. She didn't hear anything crack, so she hoped her jaw hadn't broken, but that thought was quickly forgotten as she saw them laugh at her, holding the piece of silver.

"Please," Anzu begged.

The couple began to walk away, the woman pocketing Anzu's necklace. She heard them tell her to "fuck off" as an afterthought.

It had lasted only a few minutes, and yet, she felt like her lifetime had just been stolen. Her stomach cramped from the emotional turmoil. She stumbled out of the alley back onto the street. A neighborhood liquor store was next to her. She went inside; a small bell jingled her arrival.

Wandering amid the rows of glass bottles, Anzu stopped at the selection of vodkas. Her fingers caressed the long necks, and she settled on a bottle that was citrus-flavored. Picking it up, she took it to the register and flashed her ID at cashier. He didn't look it, they never did. Anzu was well aware that she was only twenty and her birthday had been recent. As she fished out a crumbled twenty from her purse, she looked up in the shops security mirror and saw the dirt on her cheeks and her hair in complete disarray. Her eyes were puffy and red and light bruising was beginning to appear on her face. He wrapped her purchase in a brown bag without saying a real word but a mumbled "Thanks."

She exited the store, the jingle now marking her departure, and found herself on the street again. Without ceremony or care of who saw her, she unscrewed the cap of her purchase and took a swing of the liquor. A trail of fire made its way down her throat and settled in her stomach. Anzu leaned against a brick wall, and took another sip, tears spilling down her eyes. She could see how the passersby ignored her, their eyes shifting to ignore the crying woman with her brown paper-bagged bottle.

Violet light from the neon above her flicked to life and reflected against the exposed neck of the vodka. She turned the bottle this way and that, fascinated how it created a glowing duplicate shade of Atemu's eyes when he was calm. Her fist clinched around the bottle as she could hear over the din of traffic the clinking of bottles being emptied. Anzu turned and violently threw the bottle at the wall. It shattered, and the medicinal smell of the alcohol wafted from the street and wall where it spilled. She could hear people around her wondering what her problem was, but she didn't care. She stood over the mess a few more moments before she took off running down the street toward her home.

Crashing against the apartment door, she fumbled with her keys and was finally able to get it open. She realized immediately that she was not alone in the darkened space. City lights slightly illuminated her living area and she could see the slight form of a person with spiky hair. The tears she had been swallowing constantly burst from her in a torrent, and Anzu threw her sobbing self toward Atemu. His arms tightened around her as her head fell against his shoulder.

"Anzu, Anzu," he crooned, trying to calm her, "What happened? I felt a terrible sadness and found myself here again, precious."

Eventually, she was able to calm down enough to tell him what happened after the audition. Hiccups interrupted her every few words.

"They took my cartouche," she blurted, "They took it and it meant so much to me."

He patted her head, fingers running through stray hairs.

"And then, then I failed you. I.. I bought some vodka and started to drink it. When I realized what I was doing, I threw it into a wall."

Atemu rocked her as he wrapped his arms tighter around her. "You haven't failed me, Anzu. I've been concerned because you had been failing yourself. It sounds to me like you didn't fail but succeeded."

She could feel the subtle shift of his muscles under his shirt and clung tighter to him.

"About your necklace," he continued, "I will find a way to bring it back to you."

Anzu shook her head. "Not right now, I... I... I need you with me. Please, don't leave me alone."

His cheek brushed her ear as she felt him nod to her request. She allowed Atemu to lead her toward her sleeping area. He gently directed her into her bed, pulling the sheets over and tucking Anzu into them. He then sat on the side, his hand resting on her hip. Her hands were clasped just below her chin.

"Atemu," her voice quiet and subdued, "would you hold me?"

Heading shifting up, Atemu looked down at her tear-streaked face in the half-light through the corner of his eyes. She was staring at him with eyes that were like liquid pools of lazuli. He shifted and climbed across her, slipping under the covers to wrap his arms around her from behind as he spooned her. Anzu felt his hands rest just under her breasts.

Whispering in her ear, he said, "Of course."

Anzu snuggled closer against him, the soothing weight of his limbs making her feel less alone in the world. It was strange that she could feel his breath hot against her cheek, his head lying on her shoulder.

"Atemu," she began to speak, and then swallowed.

"Yes, Anzu?" he replied.

"Atemu, have you ever wanted something with your whole being but was afraid that you'd be denied?"

He was silent for a long time. If she couldn't feel his warmth, she would have thought he had vanished again.

"Yes, many times," he finally answered.

She turned in his arms to face him. Her hands were still clasped beneath her chin and were caught between their bodies. Anzu looked at his face and was slightly surprised to see nervousness softening his usually intense countenance. She licked her suddenly dry lips. Atemu's eyes lingered over where her tongue had just passed. She could feel her cheeks reddening as she brought words to her thoughts.

"Please, kiss me," she whispered as her hands uncoiled to lightly caress his neck, the fingertips just barely touching the skin.

It was Atemu's turn to blush, but he did not say no. Instead, his hand rose to brush strands of hair from Anzu's forehead, mindful of the sore skin from her earlier adventure. Tenderness had entered his eyes and violet gazed into blue. His head bowed toward hers. Her breath was caught as she glided her hands over his shoulders and closed her eyes. Atemu's eyes also closed as his lips found Anzu's.

The kiss was soft, gentle, a barest brush of chaste lips that slowly deepened. Quick licks from their tongues ran across the other's lip. Their breath intermingled and became one, neither wanting to end where the kiss was leading them. Anzu wrapped her arms tighter around his neck as she felt his own arms clinging firmly to her. She could taste the tip of his tongue as he barely probed her mouth and she moaned into him. Her leg moved upward to drape around his waist and she felt his hand at her back move downward to cup her buttocks. Their bodies pressed together, seemingly to desire a fusion into one shape and form.

Atemu was the one to break the kiss first.

"Anzu, we..." he whispered, "I have nothing to offer you." He turned his face away from her questioning stare.

Taking the upper hand, Anzu turned his face back toward her.

"You have offered me more than anyone," she responded.

He nodded, accepting her statement, as his hands returned to a more innocent position at her waistline. She withdrew her leg from his hip, but their feet remained twined together under the sheets.

"I probably don't have much time left here," Atemu told her.

"Will you hold me until you go?"

"I will hold you until you fall asleep," he offered instead.

She accepted his offer with a quick bob of her head. Anzu turned over, her back once again pressed tightly against his chest. He pulled her a little bit closer and she sighed softly. She felt warm and safe.

"Thank you, Atemu," she said as she started to yawn.

"Always."

An hour passed, and Anzu's breathing became low and even. He could hear a soft snore escaping her every so often. Carefully, so as not to disturb her, Atemu slipped out of the bed. His violet eyes were beginning to glow as he stepped into the center of the room. They closed for a moment and the golden glow of the Eye of Anubis appeared on his forehead. When he opened his eyes again, they were radiating crimson. A breeze stirred through the apartment, fluttering magazine pages and blowing his hair about. Atemu spread his arms out wide and vanished.

Anzu continued to sleep unaware, a smile on her lips.


	9. Punished

Atemu had fought to swallow his rage the moment he had saw Anzu with a blossoming bruise on her face. His concern for her well-being was able to overcome his innate desire for justice and allow him to be able to give her whatever comfort she had needed. It seemed that both had needed solace. His own fears weighed upon him; his tangibility in this world was a constant question. After he knew that Anzu was asleep, he finally allowed himself to feel the fury that had been burning at the corners of his mind. He was going to make sure the ones who had hurt Anzu would pay for their folly while he still had a chance to affect this plane of existence.

It was easier than he thought it would be to locate the pair of thugs who had stolen her cartouche. While she had given him the best description of the attack she could, her words would not have been enough. However, her emotions and memories of the event were on the surface of her mind and screamed loudly to be seen. This gave him the figurative signature of the culprits. Therefore, when he arose from the shared bed, he had been able to call upon his past powers rooted in the darkness of the shadows to transport himself to their location.

He was standing outside a dilapidated building that had a neon sign out front. There was cracks in the tubing that caused the light to flicker every few seconds. One moment he was bathed in sickly green light, and in the next only the crimson of his eyes could be seen. There were enough parts of the letters lit up for it to spell BAR. Atemu stood in front of the door and pondered it a moment, and then he knocked.

A panel in the upper-third portion of the door slid open, and a pair of red-veined black eyes stared down at him. The owner of the eye's voice spoke to him. "Wha's da password?"

Gold light emanating from Atemu's Eye of Anubis was his answer, and the doorman opened the entryway to let him pass.

Smirking, Atemu walked into the bar. The place positively reeked of tar and nicotine and a heavy cloud of cigarette smoke hung overhead, slightly obscuring the faint lighting above. Patrons stopped what they were doing as he walked pass. Gold ankhs at his wrists gleamed, and the chains hanging from his waist clinked. Whispers followed his passage, people questioning each other about the strangely decorated man. He did enjoy the affects his modern costume had on others. Never mind that his hair alone put any of the mohawk-shaped ones to shame.

He could feel his quarry nearby, and turned his path toward them. They were in a corner playing a game of pool with a few of their gang mates. On the female, he could see Anzu's cartouche gleaming and it acted as a beacon to him. Without thinking about it, he reached up to touch his twin of the charm. When the group looked up at him from their various positions around the pool table, he could not help the inanely twisted smile from breaking out on his face as he spread his empty hands out in greeting.

Speaking first was the large one that had hit Anzu in the face, "Who're you?"

"Does it matter my name?" Atemu smoothly replied.

A blond-haired man sporting stiff spikes of hair on his head hopped off his stool. Atemu's eyes continued to move back and forth from the dark-haired ones with the tribal tattoos.

"What's with his eyes? They're all red and shit. Like, really red," a hanger-on to the group, barely old enough to smoke, pointed out.

"Is he some kind of goth?"

"I don't know... he's wearing black leather but has some business jacket."

"Ever see him before?"

"Nope."

Each of the group questioned themselves about him. Atemu kept his eyes trained on the pair he had come for, but he could see the blond spiky one approaching him from the side. He walked up to the table, and then down the side, his crimson eyes never leaving the pair as he stroked his hand across the worn wood and felt.

"He's kind of creepy."

"Yeah..."

"Whys he staring at 'Chelle and Sam like that?"

"Why is he? Yeah."

"We could take him down easily. He's a pipsqueak."

Laughter.

"I don't know, I think he's kind of sexy... in um... like a weird way."

Atemu could feel it when Spiky was close enough to strike him, knew it when he looked for direction from Sam, Anzu's attacker, and received a very slight nod of approval. With a yell, the blonde threw himself at him, and Atemu side-stepped to dodge the punch. When the other man came running back at him, he had already grabbed a scratched up, wooden pool cue that was standing on the side of the table. He spun it like a professional baton twirler before slamming the end into the man's face. Atemu was rewarded with a spurt of blood as well as a shout of pain.

Before he could recover, and to set him as his example, Atemu continued his assault by effortlessly swinging back and striking the man his groin. When the other grasped his crushed member, Atemu struck him once more over the head and knocked him out. He spun the cue, bringing his full attention back to 'Chelle and Sam.

By now, everyone in their group had stood up and amid a whirl of angry diatribes. Atemu picked up a piece of blue chalk and began to rub it over the tip of his blood stained pool stick.

"What the fuck do you want, Shortie?" Big leader asked Atemu.

Placing the square of chalk down on the table edge in a grossly apparent act of needless precision that required all his concentration, Atemu turned to respond to him.

His voice was low, full of malice, as he said, "I'm here to play a game with you and... 'Chelle."

Staying behind him the whole time, 'Chelle stood up to join her partner. Her hair was a riot of short ridges that fell around her neck, and her eyes were a dark shade of chartreuse green.

It was she that spoke next, "And why should we play a game with you?"

"Because, if you win, I will give you one hundred thousand dollars," Atemu replied.

"What sort of game?"

"This one will do," Atemu responded with a nonchalant shrug.

"You even know how to play?"

"I know enough."

"OK," Sam responded, "We'll play. Afterwards, we're going to kick your ass."

Sam laughed, expecting his friends to join him, but everything was silent around them. He took a good look around when 'Chelle grabbed his arm; she was freaking out. They were enclosed by darkness that had the semblance of angry storm clouds, and tendrils of violet moved with the blackness.

Sam's face turned red in anger. "Where are our friends? Where is the bar? What the hell trick is this shit?"

"Sam, what has he done? Where are we?" 'Chelle babbled at the same time as Sam.

Merciless laughter was their reply. Atemu threw two pool cues to the pair, which for their credit they caught deftly.

"The game is about to begin," Atemu calmly explained as he picked a piece of lint off of his jacket, "But, this is not an ordinary game, this is a _Yami no Game_, a Game of Darkness. You will not be able to leave until we have finished playing."

'Chelle stared at him with her mouth wide opened and Sam's knuckles turned white as he clinched his stick.

"What are the rules freak?" Sam snarled.

"We're going to play eight-ball. Are you familiar with it?" Atemu barely waited for them to acknowledge that they knew the rules to the common pool game. "Since the game is designed for pairs, and there are three of us, you two will be on the same team and alternating. You two are often a team, so this should be no problem for you. However..."

'Chelle grew impatient as Atemu became silent. "However, what?" she asked.

Atemu's ghastly smile spread even wider as he spoke. "When you scratch, pocket the wrong ball, or incorrectly sink the eight ball, there will be a penalty. The game begins now, Sam will break."He waved his cue toward him.

Bending over the table, Sam stared down the line of his cue and broke the racked balls. They clinked each other and thunked against the cushions. A striped blue ten was pocketed on the break. Sam gave a shout of elation at the first drop.

"Yeah! We take stripes!"

Atemu nodded as Sam circled the table to line up for another shot. He tried to sink the fifteen ball, but it bounced off the edge of the pocket.

Grinning, Atemu lined his cue up to take a shot at the yellow one ball.

"What's he doing, Sam," 'Chelle asked, "There is no way he can make a shot."

For all intents, it appeared a long shot. There were several stripes in the way and it was no where near a pocket. Atemu looked at the two, his crimson eyes seeming to glow from behind his lashes, and hit the cue ball. It bounced four time against the cushions in a diagonal pattern, smacked into the one ball, which flew into the corner pocket.

Sam stared at the table and whispered, "Holy shit."

"Guess that means I get another shot," Atemu said.

He lined up again and the solid ball hit the cushion and returned to scatter several of the strips.

"Opps, guess that means it's 'Chelle's turn now."

'Chelle looked at the table, trying to figure out which to hit. Sam pointed to the fourteen ball and moved to stand behind her. She nodded, bitting her lip hesitantly and glancing at Atemu as he casually applied more blue chalk to the cue tip. Lining up for the shot, she hit the cue ball off center and it fell into the side pocket. She had scratched. 'Chelle stood up uneasily.

"I scratched," she simply said.

They could hear a rumbling in the table itself, it sounded like a ball was moving throughout the internal corridors at a high-speed. Suddenly, the white ball shot out of the table and made a bee-line for 'Chelle's head. She shrieked and ducked. The ball made contact with Sam's nose, breaking it. He grasped his face, blood seeping from between his fingers as he cursed at 'Chelle for dodging it.

Turning her head back and forth between Sam and Atemu, 'Chelle shrieked, "What the fuck happened?!"

Atemu held his hand out and the cue ball levitated and landed in his palm. He allowed her panic to continue to build as Sam wailed in pain. "I told you, there was a penalty for scratching, pocketing the other side's ball, or sinking the eight ball prematurely." He took his shot and sunk the two ball, his next move bumped against the cushion and broke up another cluster of balls.

Sam stood up, wiping his bloody hand on his pants. 'Chelle grabbed him by the arm, "Sam, we've got to forfeit. Something's wrong with this game."

"No, 'Chelle, we need the money and if you can make your fucking shots, we ain't got nothing to worry about, do we," he retorted back at her. Atemu continued to hold that wild smile that made them nervous.

It didn't take long for them to figure out Atemu's strategy with the game, that he was purposely losing shots. He continued to go through his balls numerically, regardless of where they ended up on the table. The couple of thugs grew more and more nervous, but they had managed to keep up. If that was by skill or design, they couldn't figure it out but finally, after a few more bumps and cracks by ejected foul balls, it came down to the single eight ball on the table. Sam was up to shoot.

Atemu stood back from the table nonchalantly as 'Chelle made her way around it. Sam pointed to the right corner pocket, and she bent down so her face was on level to the table. He made the shot and the eight ball bounced off the cushion heading toward the pocket. It hit the corner of the pocket and the other side and then came to a stop on the edge of it. 'Chelle took a deep breath and slowly blew on the ball through her slightly parted lips. It fell in.

Sam pumped his arm upward, yelling out, "Yes!"

She jumped up and ran to him. He picked her up and spun her around. "We won!" she cried.

Caught in their ill-gotten elation, they did not see how the table, the cues, and everything but themselves, Atemu, and the rolling black clouds disappeared. They turned when they heard him speak in a low voice.

"The Door of Darkness has been opened." His closed eyes opened, and as they did, another eye appeared upon his forehead, the glowing Eye of Anubis.

"What... what do you mean?" 'Chelle demanded.

Sam had pulled her close, his fist clinched and upraised as he shouted to Atemu, "We won the game, give us the money and let us go!"

"You work well as a team, cheat well as a team, too. Is that what happens when you face someone stronger than you? Of course," Atemu waved his hand off to the side as he spoke, "it's so much easier to hurt and cheat those who are weaker than you."

He walked up to them, 'Chelle retreating against Sam. "Get away from us, you freak!"

"You have something that does not belong to you."

"Huh?"

At that moment, Sam noticed that 'Chelle's tattooed arm was sinking into his chest. Her flesh and his flesh were merging and melting together.

"'Chelle!" He screamed, his eyes bulging from fear.

"Oh my god, oh my god, please help us," she babbled incoherently.

Atemu reached out and pulled the cartouche from her neck, snapping the chain easily. Around them, the bar had returned. Voices were talking like they had never disappeared, until people realized that 'Chelle and Sam were clinging to each other and freaking out. To them, the more they struggled the more they sank into each other. He walked out of the bar, and no one attempted to stop him.

He vanished at the doorway and reappeared in Anzu's studio. She was still sleeping, curled up on her side. He could feel the strength he had earlier rapidly fading away, and with that, soon his coalesced form would follow. He crawled upon the bed to her and concentrating on the break in the chain mended it. Atemu then returned it to around Anzu's throat, his lips brushing her cheek softly.

He curled up against her again, wrapping his arms tightly, and waited to fade.


	10. Tutored

Sunlight streamed through the curtainless windows at the head of Anzu's bed and woke her up. She stretched gracefully, arms fully extended, and collapsed back in a heap on her randomly colored pillows. Her hand padded the free side of the bed, finding it bare of any other person. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling.

"I suppose he couldn't stay. I wish I understood more about what is going on. I wish I had the time to investigate," she murmured to herself.

She noticed a cool sensation over her heart, and she picked up her cartouche that was hanging on her chain. A shout of joy escaped her lips. Playing with the inscription of her name in hieroglyphs on it, she sent thoughts of thanks to Atemu.

Throwing the covers back, Anzu hopped out of bed and padded to the bathroom to wash her face. Looking down, she noticed that her toes were covered with a fine dusting of golden sand. Shrugging at the unexpected grit, she slipped out of her clothes and took a quick shower. After she was done getting ready for the day, she pulled the registration packet for Madame Mikala's school and started going over the paperwork. Her eyes landed on the tuition expenses.

"Seven thousand dollars." She sighed dejectedly. "I have just enough to survive for two months in my savings until I find another job, but it's not that much." Anzu ran her fingers through her black hair in agitation.

Jabbing at the paper with her pen, she furiously filled out the lines that detailed her life and dance history. Legs crossed and uncrossed in annoyance with the seemingly unending paperwork. In the end, ten pages comprised the near whole of her existence. She searched through a small desk for her school transcripts and visa information and added them to the stack. Grabbing her bag, she made her way back through the city to Mikala's and found herself sitting with the older woman in a small, but tastefully decorated, office.

"I see," the richly timbered voice was saying.

Mikala's hands were pressed against each other at the fingertips, her carefully painted red nails tapping each other, and created a type of steeple. Anzu had just laid out her entire case before the teacher, but her hope for some help was low. She had come to the country via an exchange program for Juilliard but since being expelled, she did not think she'd be eligible for any other aid.

"There are some programs, though privately managed, that might help but I am not certain who or where. Unfortunately, for you to keep your visa and stay here, you will have to be at a school taking academic classes at a full-time level. We don't offer academics here, only dance instruction."

"Oh." It was all Anzu could manage around the salty lump in her throat.

"You should try Queens College. They have several international study programs and maybe they will have the expertise to help you with this. Did you have good grades in Japan?"

Smiling weakly, Anzu replied, "Yes, I did have good grades."

"Until your finances are in order, I cannot instruct you, yet, Miss Mazaki," Mikala stated in a firm businesslike manner. Anzu's face fell.

"Don't look so down," she offered to the upset woman, "Anything that is worth something requires will and sacrifice."

She stood up and walked around the desk, her crimson robes flowing like water around her, and slipped a finger under Anzu's chin. Her large dark eyes peered into the sapphire of Anzu's.

"All of our paths are for a purpose, never forget that. Now, chin up, little swan, you have a busy day ahead of you."

Anzu followed her lead and stood up, they parted and the jingling of the bell marked her exit. She looked at her watch, it was almost eleven in the morning. She figured it would take her about an hour to get across the city to Queens. What was she going to say to the school. Should she even go. Thoughts ran through her mind as she wandered back to the terminal and descended into the underbelly of the city.

Two transfers and an hour later, Anzu was crossing the wide green lawn toward the admissions building at the college. She felt extremely out of place and wondered if they could tell she was a recent former stripper. Clutching her slightly out of fashion dress-coat tighter around her, she kept her head slightly lowered and allowed her bangs to hide her eyes from the world. Eventually, she noticed the alabaster white concrete stairs of the building and made her way up.

It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the more subdued internal lighting after exiting the garish afternoon sun. Voices were muted by the thick cream-colored walls and lush, beige carpet, and Anzu nervously approached the front desk. A young co-ed was working the desk and shined a falsely painted smile toward her.

"How can I help you?" She asked in a bubblegum voice.

"I'm interested in attending the school. Could you point me to admissions?"

Pointing a finger over to the left, the girl replied, "Over there."

Anzu turned and wandered over to the registrar line. Students mulled around the waiting area talking to each other in quiet voices waiting to be called. She took a number and sat down on a art-deco inspired couch. She pulled out her folders from her bag to make sure she had everything that was given to her before she left Japan nearly two years ago. Well-creased transcripts and letters of recommendation, written in both Japanese and English, and examples of her academic projects and progress. Everything was neatly categorized and in folders.

"Mazaki, Anzu?" A lightly-accented male voice called for her after about an hour of waiting.

Jumping up, she made her way toward the owner of the voice and smiled. "Yes, I'm Anzu," she said.

He was about six-feet tall and was slender with a sinewy muscles that were apparent under his snug fitting white shirt. Golden highlights caught the overhead lighting in his red hair and a pair of green eyes twinkled at her from above a light dusting of freckles. He wore a black sports jacket with silver accents and a pair of dark blue designer jeans that covered most of his black boots. He looked more like a student and less like a registration associate.

"Bonjour, Miss Mazaki. My name is Zacharie Roux. It is a pleasure to meet you," his smooth voice replied.

He held his hand out to her and she reached for a handshake, which he deftly turned her hand and planted a kiss over it. She laughed nervously as she retreated her hand.

"Eto... is that how you great everyone?" Anzu asked him, her slight uncomfortableness at the greeting creeping into her voice.

He cocked an eyebrow and said, "Oh, you're serious. I am from Paris, and it is a normal greeting for a pretty girl." An awkward moment passed. "Ben...Are you here to register at Queen's College?" He tried to recover.

"I... Yes, I am," Anzu answered , glancing around her, "You're not what I was expecting."

He flashed her another smile. "I'm an assistant. I work here to help pay my tuition." He waved a hand toward his neatly arranged desk and walked over to sit down in a plush leather chair. Anzu followed and sat in the guest's more modest red cloth cushioned chair.

"Okay, Anzu, is that alright if I call you Anzu?" She nodded. "Summer Session begins in about a week. June seventh too be exact. Are you signing up for Summer or Fall Semester? That starts August twenty-sixth."

"Summer would be ideal if I can start then, Mister Roux," she repsonded.

"Zach, please." He grinned.

"Ben..." At this he frowned. "Summer might be hard for you to get into. A lot of freshmen degree classes are already filled."

Anzu blinked. "How d you know I'm a first year?"

"You seem a bit too nervous for someone that has done this before. Oh, by the by, are you an international student or on an exchange?"

"International student. Japan."

He pulled out additional papers. "We're going to have to fill these out in order to try to get you funding and extend or transfer your visa. You have one right? Do you have a job?"

She shock her head. "Yes, I have a visa. I had a job but I recently lost it."

More papers were pulled. "I can help you with student employment. On-campus or off-campus living?"

"Whichever is cheaper."

"Off-campus it is."

Zach had fallen into the rapid-fire pace of pushing her through the registration processes and she found herself getting dizzy from the rate of questions of what she needed and the stack of growing documents to be filled.

"I think I have all the papers we need now for you to fill out. I'm also going to print a list of the vacant classes that are available for summer to help with your selection for those."

Anzu kind of stared off into space and nodded. She wasn't sure where she was going to begin with this when she returned back to her studio across the city. She heard Zach laugh.

"You look a little lost. Hey, ben, normally this isn't offered, but my shift here ends in another hour or so. If you stick around, we can get some coffee and I can help you with this. I know it can seem like a lot at once."

"If it won't disturb your day or anything like that..." Anzu hesitated slightly.

"No, not at all," he replied.

"Where should I go to wait for you?"

"The quad is right next to this building. There are a couple of benches there if you want to sit down and look over this paperwork. I'll meet you there in an hour."

During the hour that Anzu had to herself, she filled out the basic information on the forms as best as she could. Most of the forms started with the same requests: Name, address, date of birth, sex, citizenship status, and etcetera. As she looked over the available summer classes, Zach was right, there were very few left that she could attend. She could feel a migraine trying to snake its way into her head as she rubbed her temples. For some reason, the last two days had its full share of migraine-inducing moments, but she seemed to be snapping inside more often. She wondered when she was just going to lay into someone. It was that or a heart attack from the stress.

"Boo!" cried a French voice in her ear. Anzu nearly fell off her perch on the bench as she twisted to ward off any attacks.

"Woah, hey, sorry to scare you there," Zach said as he grabbed her arm to keep her from falling. He sat down next to her, straddling the bench as he faced her. "Ridiculous amount of paperwork, ben?"

"Yes, almost too much and a bit overwhelming," she replied.

"Want to go grab some coffee? There is a nice cafe at the student cafeteria and at least we won't have to worry about a breeze trying to scatter your papers."

"That sounds good," Anzu said, gathering up the papers and placing them in her bag.

The pair walked across the green spaces of the campus, passing various buildings to which Zach explained which ones were which.

"Over there is Kiely Hall, English courses, communications, and most of the administration offices are housed there. And this one is Klapper Hall and you can find the museum and it has some great exhibits ranging from ancient Egypt to modern times."

"Egypt?" Anzu interrupted him.

"Yes, a couple of years ago an exhibit was hosted here. It was very fascinating. Some of the pieces were left here by the Egyptian Council."

"Is it open right now?"

"A history buff, ben? No, it's closed right now. The hours are usually nine to four. Ah, here we are, the Dining Hall." Zach opened the door with a flourish to let Anzu in and followed, taking lead once again.

A table in the corner was found, and they sat down. Anzu pulled out her papers from her bag again and sighed. Zach pulled them to himself and started going over what she had filled out. His eyes widened, and he looked up at Anzu with a question on his face.

"Anzu, according to what you wrote done, you haven't attended Juilliard in a year and a half. Is that correct."

She nodded while taking a sip of tea. Her preference for herbal beverages far outweighing that of the sour-tasting black beverage.

"There might be a problem," he continued, his voice a bit lower.

Blinking, Anzu asked, "Why?"

"Your student visa is invalid."

"No, it's not. See." Anzu pointed to the date in the corner, marking another six weeks.

He shook his head. "That's just for registration and reregistration. If you are not in school, then it is automatically invalid. Technically, you're here illegally right now."

She felt her fists clinch on the table and tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. To have pushed so far in the last two days and now between finances and this, she didn't know what to do. Shame stained her soul.

Zach reached out and unclenched her fingers and patted her hands. His green eyes were somber and serious.

"Don't worry. I'll do a bit of research tomorrow and see what can be done." He paused and grinned, trying to lighten the mood. "I just met you. There is no way I want to see you go so quickly."

Anzu couldn't respond to his offer of assistance and just nodded. She could feel despair trying to set into her and wondered if maybe she should just go back to the way things were before she saw Atemu. It was much better than this, but at least then she wasn't facing the possibility of being forced back to Japan and facing her family's disappointment.

"Let us focus on something more fun. Picking out classes." He grabbed the class schedules from the stack and spread them out on the table.

"Being a freshman, you are at the one-hundred levels. Two-hundred with special permissions."

Anzu smiled, seeing through his attempt to distract her from her sudden depression.

They picked out a couple of classes and were settling on an elective that she would enjoy, because Zach insisted that she have at least one class that was fun to her..

"Ben... How about this one?" he queried her, pointing at the one on the list. Anzu leaned over to see the one he was looking at.

"Language, Culture, and Society?"

"It's an anthropology course," he explained, "I think you might like it since you have an interest in history."

"I think I would enjoy that," she answered with a rare smile lighting up her azure eyes.

Their heads were low over the course schedules and registration information as they continued to amicably chat over the possibilities for her academic courses. Zach's knowledge of the school helping to guide her in filling out the forms. Engrossed in the process, Anzu did not see that in a darkened corner the semi-transparent from of Atemu was watching her.


	11. Repeated

Anzu could not believe how long she had sat in the school cafe discussing not only her registration, but life, with Zach. They had to order something to eat, and Zach covered her with his student card telling her that her smile was payment enough. He was a flirt, but he seemed harmless enough to her. She liked how his eyes could sparkle at the slightest thing. Zach was also apparently well-known among other international students and introduced several who were in the dining hall to her.

It was the first time she had sat down with a living person and had that long of a conversation. The only one she had recently spoken to at any length had been Atemu, but she hadn't felt him around her all day. Being distracted by the Frenchman, she realized she hadn't really given Atemu a lot of thought. A creeping of guilt started to seep in on her heady feeling of getting somewhere with her schooling. This was what he wanted her to do, but it felt like she was going forward and backwards at the same time. She wished they could communicate whenever they felt like and not sporadically.

She could see the underground tunnels flickering pass in the window she was staring out of in the subway. Sometimes, she wondered if her life was flickering by her just as rapidly. In her reflection, she did not see someone who was confident and strong. Her dark image made her seem more gaunt and lost amid the crowd around her. Anzu touched the cool glass and closed her eyes. She wondered why it was so hard to find one's place in this world.

An announcement went overhead for the next stop and without thinking about it, she turned away from herself and waited at the door. A small ding and she was exiting with the surge of people onto the platform. She could hear the conversations around her, but at the same time it was if they were all speaking a language she did not know. Her thoughts of if she had self-worth spun around. It was so easy to see all the negative that she had built up during her time here in New York, away from her friends. She would think Atemu was just a hallucination if he had not saved her and later retrieved her cartouche. She wondered if he was really safe and happy where he resided in the spiritual world or was he unhappy like she was and not telling her.

Her feet continued to take her up onto the streets and neon lights shined off of her inky hair. Thoughts of Atemu continued to dominate her thoughts and then she thought upon Zach. A living person that she seemed to have formed a quick and easy friendship. It had taken a bit of listening to get pass some of the inflections he used in his words, but then he didn't seem to have trouble with hers either. He was also willing to help her without probing too deep into her past. She knew he noticed that she skipped the employment past portion of the paperwork, and yet she was surviving in New York City without any finances. Fat chance that was possible.

She started to slow down when realization of which part of the city she was in dawned on her. It was night and she was back in the area of Dancing Dolls. In fact, she was standing right next to the entrance. Anzu wrapped her coat tighter around her, a chill seeping into her regardless of the balmy evening. Rather than walk pass the club, she started to step backwards, intending on running back the way she came. It didn't matter to her at the moment if a bus could be reached closer if she went to the other side.

Before Anzu could turn and run, a blond-haired woman wearing tight blue jeans and a low-cut, green lace camisole sashayed out of the building. The other woman immediately recognized her and bounded up to her, unimpeded by her six-inch stiletto heels.

"GG!" cried out the overly made-up woman as she rushed up to her.

"Di-Diamond?" Anzu barely manged to stutter the blond's name.

"What happened the other night with you? You just vanished and no one understands why you just walked out like you did."

"Eto... you don't remember?" asked Anzu, her eyes grew large at Diamond's question.

"Remember what?" Diamond responded. "I know those guys were being a bit fresh." Anzu's eyebrows raised. "OK, they were pushing it way far, but you shoved them off of you and ran out of the room. You about knocked Anderson down the stairs and just left. It was like you were hopped up or something. Totally killed it for the VIP party."

Anzu stepped back from Diamond. She wrapped her arms around herself and could feel herself shaking. "That's... that's not right. That's not what happened. You were there, you saw what really happened. Atemu..."

"GG." Diamond closed the distance between them and reached out to her. "Are you okay? You look really pale and you're trembling."

Her fingers were interlaced with Diamond's as the woman grabbed her. Anzu couldn't respond, her mouth opened and closed without words. She couldn't stop shaking her head. Diamond saw Atemu! She had to have. They all did right? Didn't Anderson say "your friend" when he fired her on her machine. She pulled her fingers out of her old associate's hand and instead, gripped her by her shirt.

"Friend, Anderson saw him. He said so on the answering machine. He said 'your friend!'" Anzu cried out, fear overwhelming her.

Diamond looked scared at the distressed woman. "I was there when he called you. I had to give him your number. He didn't say friend," she said quietly, hoping her calm voice would calm her.

"I'm not insane," she whispered back, "I'm not insane. He was real." Anzu felt blackness closing in on her as her consciousness began to fade away. Her fingers felt suddenly cold and she slid down against Diamond, collapsing into a swoon at her feet.

"Martin! Martin! Get me some water, now! She fainted," Diamond called back to the alcove of Diamond Dolls. Within moments, the tall dark-skinned man returned holding a paper cup filled with water the sloshed out over his lapels. He handed it to Diamond, who poured it on Anzu's face. She woke up sputtering from water that had went into her nose. People around them dodged them, some with sneering looks. Diamond flipped more than a few her middle finger as she attended to Anzu.

"Hey, girlie, c'mon, breathe it through," she crooned, "Diamond's got ya, honey."

Anzu looked at Diamond and Martin with sad, blue eyes. She was so confused. How could she not remember Atemu and what really happened and how he fought off the attackers. Did it really happen? Was she imagining everything? How could that be, it felt so real. She wondered if she was unhinged from when she took all those pills and first saw him. Could that have been some delusional dream as a result of too much alcohol and drugs?

"Martin, do you remember a short man with spiky hair from the other night," she asked him slowly.

He shook his head, his dark eyes filled with worry. "No, GG, I don't. I would've remembered someone like that."

"Diamond, I don't know what is real anymore," Anzu said as tears fell down from her eyes, mingling with the water drops on her face, as she looked at the other woman.

Diamond and Martin pulled her back up to her feet. Martin pushed onlookers aside, yelling at them to back off that there was nothing to see.

"You and GG okay now, Diamond?" Martin's voice was gravely with concern.

She nodded and said, "Yeah, Martin, I got her now."

He looked around, making sure no one was going to bother the two women. "All right, I have to go back to the door. Bossman'll be pissed if he catches me not at my post."

Diamond softly smiled at Anzu and smoothed the dark-haired girl's hair. Her gray eyes betrayed her concern but Anzu was too distraught to take notice of Diamond's careful, motherly movements. She felt like a marionette and someone else was pulling her strings. The biggest problem was she didn't know who was doing the pulling. Worse still would it be if it wasn't someone else but herself. Right now, the only person she could turn to was Diamond. She wrapped her arms around the other woman and just held on to her.

Hesitantly, Diamond put her arms around Anzu. She wasn't sure how to proceed with her so she decided she would do what she could. She carefully disengaged herself from Anzu and turned her, leading her down the street.

Calling out over her shoulder, Diamond told Martin, "Let the boss know that I'll be back in the morning sometime with his stuff. I'm going to go take care of GG." She saw Martin wave his acknowledgment and continued leading Anzu away.

"I know what you need, GG, you need a drink. So let's go down to Beaver Lodge. You like that bar remember?"

Anzu nodded her head slowly, still feeling like she was swimming in the air. Diamond took Anzu's hand and led her around the block toward the bar. She chatted about nonsensical items like the warm weather and the current sports games. All things that Anzu didn't care about. A track continued to play in her head over and over again. Diamond and Martin said that they never saw Atemu and could that mean everything that has happened in the last two days was not real.

They entered the dive bar and found a small booth in the corner. Diamond immediately ordered Anzu an amaretto sour and dirty martini for herself. A waitress returned with the drinks and handed them a menu full of appetizers. Anzu blankly stared at Diamond when she suggested a snack with their drinks. Frowning, Diamond went ahead and ordered some fried mozzarella sticks. She proceeded to play with the toothpick stuck through the olives resting in the bottom of her glass.

"GG," Diamond began speaking, "Could you tell me what is going on? You haven't seem yourself lately."

Anzu stared at the golden-colored drink, the red of the cherry standing out amid the alcohol, for a long moment before she spoke.

"I don't know. I haven't felt like my current self. I sort of was feeling like my high-school self for a bit there."

Diamond took a sip. "Bit young for a midlife crisis, don't you think?"

"Perhaps."

"Go on, it's your favorite, take a drink while we wait for the cheese sticks. I got you covered for tonight," Diamond urge.

Licking her suddenly dry lips, Anzu took the drink with both hands and took a sip. Soured almond liquor burst against her tongue and warmed her mouth and throat. She tilted her head back and swallowed the rest of the drink.

"There you go!" Diamond also drank the contents of her drink. "Now is the time to relax and chill out."

Hot, cheese sticks with marinara sauce were delivered and Diamond asked for another round of their drinks, which were quickly given. Anzu felt the cold emptiness in her soul being replaced by the warm, albeit artificial, feelings of the drink. Her tongue was finally loosening up as was the rest of her body. Instead of sitting up straight, she leaned back a little and took a piece of breaded cheese and swirled it in the sauce. She ate the piece of fried and sauced food as Diamond regaled her with stories of her night before and the money she made. Drinks were drank and refilled.

"So, tell me about your day, GG," Diamond asked her.

"Well," Anzu began, "remember that I used to in school for professional dance."

"Mmhmm," Diamond acknowledged around a gulp of her martini.

"I applied for this dance school and was accepted, but I cannot go unless I get my finances straight. I went to one of the colleges and started the process there, but my..." Anzu paused and redirected, choosing not to mention her visa situation, "... paperwork is having a bit of an issue. I did meet a cute guy. His name is Zach."

Diamond squealed slightly at the mention of a guy. Anzu consumed half of her drink in one swallow.

"You would like him, Diamond. He has red hair and green eyes. Very handsome combination. I just don't think he's my type, though." Anzu began to giggle. "Oh, and he's French."

"If you don't think he's your type, then introduce him to me. Diamond can show him a good time. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi," Diamond told her, with a lopsided grin.

Anzu grinned back, her own smile becoming just as lopsided. "Maybe I will!"

"GG, just who is your type? Other than this Zach, this is the first time I've heard you talk about a guy."

"I..." Anzu paused, her voice dropping a timber from the previously giggly tone, "I guess my type is a bit different from most..."

"And it is how?" she asked.

Anzu finished her drink and realized she had lost count of how many she had drank. It felt as if her skin was tingling and she laid her head down, her fingers playing on the polished but scratched surface of the wooden table.

"It is presence that is my type. A strong and confident man is what excites me." Anzu's voice turned dreamy, slightly distant, as if she could visualize who she was talking about, "I knew someone like that a few years ago. He was shorter than me, so on first look you might not found him much, but if you took one look in his violet eyes, you would see fire and strength. He could take down the world like no other, save you, and you would follow him to the ends of the earth because you knew he would always protect you."

Diamond audibly breathed as she leaned back. "Wow, sounds like you were in love or really had a thing for him."

"I don't know how I felt. It was confusing back then. He physically looked a lot like a childhood friend of mine so I wasn't sure how I felt and for who. It's confusing now."

"I think you need another drink after that confession. I need another one. After a story like that, I need to cool down." Diamond winked at Anzu.

More beverages made their way to their hands and the women slammed them in one drink.

"So, GG, you think you'll ever see your perfect man again?" Diamond asked her.

Anzu tried to keep the sadness out of her voice as she replied, "I thought I had seen him again but I guess that was all just a dream."

Diamond grabbed her recently refilled drink and held it up to Anzu, "To our dreams then!"

Anzu lifted her glass and they clinked against one another. "To our dreams."

They laughed at each other and waved their hands for more drinks, and as they emptied, they asked for more as they continued to party. People came and went, joining them from a few minutes to an hour. Before they realized what time it was, someone was crying out last call. Diamond stood up, swaying slightly on her heels, and held her hand out to Anzu.

Getting the words out between giggles, Diamond told Anzu, "Time to go home, GG!"

Anzu grabbed the offered hand and fell back down into the booth laughing. Her legs felt wobbly, like they were made of jello. All the lights were overly bright to her and she flopped an arm back out to Diamond.

"I'm going to need some help getting home." Anzu plaintively looked up at Diamond for help.

Calling over to their waitress while throwing down a forty dollar in addition to their tab, Diamond asked for her to hail them a cab out front. Their waitress scooped up the money quickly and went to flag down someone. After a couple of tries, Diamond managed to get Anzu up on her feet. It took the assistance of the waitress to get her out the front door and into the yellow cab. Diamond gave the cabby Anzu's address and they were there shortly. Anzu and Diamond managed to pour themselves out of the cab once it arrived and after paying their driver, burst through the doors of her building.

Looking up, Anzu gasped, "I live way high up, don't I?"  
Diamond followed her gaze. "Just a bit but we can make it, sistah."

Arms looped through to shoulders, Diamond led the way up each flight of steps. Exertion was increasing Anzu's vertigo, and she wondered if she was going to throw up over the balcony. Step by step, they passed each floor until they reached Anzu's.

"That's it, GG," Diamond grunted as she helped her to her door, "That's a good girl." She began to giggle. "Good girl is the same as Geisha Girl. You're always a GG, GG!"

Anzu lolled her head and smiled at Diamond. Her whole body was numb and heavy. Each movement caused the world around her to spin on its axis for her now. She shoved a key into the door, and it slowly opened as she began to sing-song, "Diamond, diamond in the sky, twinkle, twinkle. Thousand winds that blow. Diamond glints of the snow. Stars that shine at night."

A male voice answered, barely controlled with seething anger, "Do not stand at my grave and cry; I am not there, I did not die."

Diamond almost dropped Anzu as she stared at the short, well-muscled man with multicolored, spiked hair and golden headdress. He was wearing sheer robes of white with hieroglyphs adorning the trim. He seemed oddly familiar. However, right now, his furious, violet eyes were tinged with crimson, and they were staring Diamond down.

"Who the fuck are you?" she yelled at him.

"Atemu!" Anzu cried out at the same time.

Golden light radiating from the Eye of Anubis on his forehead filled their eyes and minds until all was black.


	12. Confessed

Consciousness slowly returned to her. She could tell that she was waking up because her limbs felt lighter and her facilities were returning to her. She could smell fresher air than she had previously known before. Her fingers reflexively dug into the earth beneath her, touching on stems of some sort of plant that mostly kept her from the grit below. Lightness behind her lids told her that she was not somewhere dark. Warmth permeated her limbs and she felt languid, completely relaxed. She didn't know who or where she was, but she was safe. She was sure of this.

"You don't belong here, Anzu," a male's voice was telling her. It seemed so far away and closer at the same time. His words had an echoing quality to them. She figured Anzu must be her name since it felt right.

"If you are found here, I do not know what They would do to us."

She wanted to tell this voice that there was nothing to fear but she felt so tired. All she wanted to do was sleep in... whose arms. Anzu couldn't remember anything. Right now, all she knew was the moment.

"Stay still, don't move, They come overhead along the tail of the Sun."

Hands pressed against her shoulders. She bucked slightly at the restraint. Anzu tried to open her mouth to call out for... something. However, the other's lips pressed against hers, effectively silencing her and stealing her breath. She knew this feeling, knew the contact. Her moment led her to stop resisting and deepen the kiss of the pressed lips. She could feel the body over her stiffen. He must have only meant to silence her and was not expecting her to respond against him. She didn't care.

Anzu moved her lower arms so that her arms to grasp his waist. Her fingertips moved along the ridges of his abdomen and she could feel him trembling. The stranger's, is he a stranger, skin felt flush to her. Her mouth moved against his and she extended her tongue to touch his. She could feel his groan reverberating against her lips. She knew him, she knew this taste, but she could not direct her eyes to open.

With his kisses gradually becoming more forceful, she found herself responding in kind with the stranger; no, he isn't a stranger. He released his hold on her shoulders and she felt him slipping his hands under her back, pulling her up as he twisted around to a sitting position. She automatically wrapped her arms and legs around him. Their kisses grew more heated and desperate. She could feel the overhead sun beating against her skin and drying the sweat that formed.

Sandy hands roamed over her body, finding exposed flesh on her arms and neck. She could feel a pull of material at her back as the hands moved behind her and the one of them slipping under her shirt to stroke at the flesh of her back. It felt as if he was going to devour her with his lips as they fought their own war of supremacy over the other. He scratched his nails down her back, causing her to arch forward as she broke the kiss to cry out in pleasure.

Not to be deterred, her lover nipped at the flesh of her neck and shoulders. Their arousal was combining with the heat of the sun to cause them to become wet with sweat. Anzu pressed her clothed breasts against his bare chest and wrapped her arms around his neck. She could feel the tickle of his hair on her face. Her eyes were still so heavy, but not as much as when she first felt him. At the moment, she didn't care if she ever opened her eyes again.

She leaned herself back, her arch causing her pelvis to grind against his lower waist. He took the initiative and rained kisses across her lower neck and upper breasts. His tongue felt like wet silk as he left trails of fire across her skin. She ran her fingers through his hair, luxuriating in the feel of the strands. One of his hands had changed its movement across her back to caress her stomach, his thumb kneading against her flesh. Anzu left scratches down his upper arms and forearms as she let herself fall back, supported only by his grip. She could feel her hair tickling his feet as she dropped her head further back to allow him access. She opened her eyes to the sky overhead.

Soft shades of sun-touched azure blue opened up to her. There was nary a cloud to be seen. She could see the feathery tops of the reeds around her in her peripheral vision. She watched as a huge red dragon made his way across the sky over them. The flapping of his wings stirring the stalks around them.

"Is that... Osiris the Sky Dragon," she suddenly found herself whispering audibly.

Caresses on her body stopped, frozen where they lay and she turned her head downward to see Atemu looking up at her. He was wearing his Anubian Eye regalia, the gold glinted in the light and stood out against his tanned skin.

His lips barely moved as he whispered, "Don't move."

She watched the dragon make his way until he was nothing more than a speck in the sky.

Anzu mouthed the words, "He's gone," and Atemu nodded.

Carefully, with reverent movements, he released her from his lap and urged her to sit in front of him. She twisted around and laid her back against his chest. His hands continued to caress her, this time along her arms. They were silent for a few moments.

"Atemu," Anzu asked, still feeling the languid sensations from earlier, "where are we?"

His arms tightened around her, holding her to him, as he responded, "We are in the Fields of Aaru. This is where the dead go who have earned paradise."

Her fingers played with a reed that was caressing Atemu's outer thigh. "Am I dead?"

"No." She could hear the soft, sibilant sigh accompany his words.

"How am I here?" she asked slowly, suddenly unsure of her solidity.

He kissed her shoulder over where there was a love mark from his earlier ardor before answering. "I don't know, by all accounts you should not be here and I should not be able to go there. When you come, the sky changes. They, the Gods, are trying to figure out why this is happening and I will not tell Them. I... I can't..."

"How much longer can I remain here?" She felt all she could offer was questions. Her confusion was apparent on her face.

"Not for very long. This is the longest you have been here. The most physical that you can be among a land of spirits."

"Oh..."

"I almost want to tell you to not go, but I can't." He twirled a strand of her black hair around his forefinger. She could see it becoming faint and transparent.

She tried to grab on to him, but her fingers passed through his chest. She strugged to say some something, anything, but no sounds were escaping her lips. Concentrating with all her will, she finally heard herself cry out.

"Please, don't let me go!"

Atemu nodded and began to glow, the lines were like golden yellow neon as they outlined his body and decorations. He was able to grab on to her and tucked her into his arms.

He whispered to her, "I could never let you go if I tried."

She closed her eyes and buried her head in his chest as she felt a pull against her solar plexus. At the same moment, it felt as if Anzu's entire being was being compressed into a fine line of matter. Lights from thousands of stars exploded behind her eyes as it felt like a thunderous wind was roaring against her body. She clung tighter to Atemu, frightened that if she even allowed a single finger to release itself that she would lose him. The unseen movement began to slow itself and finally they came to a stop.

Anzu opened her eyes to a world in shades of gray that was slowly filling in with color. She could see Diamond's figure over her pacing back and forth. It was then that Anzu realized she was staring at her own body. Her figure was halfway in the doorway, she must've collapsed upon seeing Atemu. Diamond was on her phone, frantically waving her arms. Soon, almost all the color had bled back into the scene but it still felt unreal, disjointed.

"Anzu," Atemu said to her, lifting her chin, "walk to your body and touch it. Bring life back to yourself." He released her from his arms as they stood up.

She wanted to hesitate but the pull was becoming stronger, and she could see a fine silvery line extending from the carcass to her current form. Anzu turned back to Atemu, and he seemed to be illuminated by an inner sun. She smiled weakly when he gave her an encouraging nod. She touched the body and felt herself pulled back in.

Anzu sat straight up, taking a deep and ragged breath. Diamond screamed and dropped her phone. A 911 operator started asking what was going on. Anzu was nearly knocked down by Diamond whose tears fell on her face as she grabbed her tightly.

"Ohmigod, ohmigod!" the blond was babbling, "I though you were dead. Ohmigod. She's alive!"

Blinking, Anzu asked her, "Diamond, what is going on?"

"You just collapsed as soon as we walked in the door. I don't know why. You weren't breathing... I thought... I thought," Diamond voice continued in its panicked tone, "I thought you were dead."

Anzu picked up Diamond's forgotten cell phone. "Hello? Yes. I'm fine. I fainted is all. No, no need. You can call them back. Yes. Yes. I'll call my doctor. Thank you."

Gently taking her friends hands in hers, Anzu looked deep into Diamond's eyes and told her, "Diamond, it is time for you to go home. I'm going to go to sleep now. I don't feel too good, but I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Go, now." Anzu insisted, she felt like for some reason Diamond seemed more suggestive at the moment than any time she had ever known her. Diamond nodded and grabbed her bag. Anzu could see Atemu standing behind her in semi-transparent form.

Diamond exited the apartment and Anzu closed and locked the door. The click seemed to echo in the suddenly silent room. Anzu placed her hand against the wooden panel and took a deep breath before turning around to face Atemu. He was coalescing into a more physical presence.

"Atemu," Anzu said, her voice taking a razor tone of firmness, "I think we need to have a talk."

He nodded as he walked over to her couch and sat down. When she just stood there, he patted the cushion next to him.

"We do," he agreed.

She sat down next to him and felt his arm wrap around her shoulders, she reflexively leaned her head into him.

"I was dead wasn't I?"

"You were, but it was not your time so it was not going to last... so long as you came back to your body," he stated simply.

"What are we going to do?"

She could feel his frown before he answered her question. "What do you mean?"

"You. Me."

"There cannot be a you and me. Not at this time."

Her whole body stiffened at his response. "What do you mean?"She asked, turning his question toward him.

"Anzu, I cannot fully exist in this world. Just as you cannot fully exist in mine."

"I don't understand. You are here now," she poked at his chest, feeling resistance, "I was there."

Atemu suddenly stood up, causing Anzu to nearly flop onto the couch. She lifted herself up and found herself staring at his back, his hands were clasped tightly behind him as he stared at the wall.

"There is no body for me to go to. Therefore, there is no way for me to exist here. For you to be where I am, in the Fields of Aaru, you would have to be dead, and even then, it might not be possible for you to be there as well."


	13. Decided

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. There had to be a way, it could not be this final. Could there not be a middle ground, a compromise. Somehow they were traveling between the two places regardless of their statuses of life and death, would that count for something. Her fingers dug into the thick upholstery of the couch. Anzu watched him shake his head to himself. She could see the lines of stress across his bare shoulders and back. Since her return from Aaru, she had noticed that he was wearing his Egyptian costume rather than the coat and pants combination.

"I can give you nothing that you deserve, Anzu. What I can offer is but shades and air, imagination, falsities. I know we have intense feelings for each other that span our friendship, but we cannot let them continue. You deserve the opportunity to grow, to live, to be. My time has already come. I had my chance long ago."

"Atemu," she could hear the stutter and upset in her own voice, "what are you saying? Just say it... don't coat it in words that you're helping me."

She watched him tilt his head up to stare at the ceiling, seemingly to gather his thoughts. He finally spoke.

"I cannot come back to you anymore. You cannot come to me."

Anzu stood up from the couch. She noticed that the color was what she could call her heart. The cover was dark, nearly black red spiraled with faint swirls of silver throughout it. Cream colored walls appeared to be trying to reach out to her, closing in on her as she sought air. Every cell in her body yearned to touch him and feel his arms around her again. Every part denied that he could mean what he was saying. He turned to face her, his eyes were wet with tears; like her own she realized.

He was serious.

"Anzu, I told you before not to rely upon me and that you had to find your own strength," he said, his own voice cracking with the words. Tears were trickling down his face, she could feel the same on her cheeks.

She wanted to run to him, but felt like her feet were rooted to the floor. His eyes bore into her and it seemed that he was seeing every piece of her, to remember her. Her head started to shake, but it didn't seem like it was her own.

"I will never forget you, no matter how many millennia pass," he continued, "Go and live, please."

He was fading before her eyes. Anzu could not accept this, she did not want to live without him. Her body went in motion and she threw herself at him, but she passed through his nearly translucent form. She slammed into the bookshelf, and several books came tumbling down on her. She couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel anything at all. A faint whisper of good-bye was all that was left.

She curled up on the ground and silent heaves shook her body. Tears were flowing rapidly now and they soaked her hair and hands. The emptiness in her heart was physical to her. It cut her in sharper than any knife she had known. Her body felt exposed as if her skin had been peeled from her muscles, leaving behind nothing but jellied viscera. Violence flowed through her like blood, only matched in force by the sorrow she felt.

Anzu's hand reached for a book and she tossed it toward the kitchen. Another book soon followed, shattering a small yellow glass vase. Another, and another went flying through the air shattering knick-knacks and knocking over magazines. A mirror shattered. A plate broke. Next a doll went flying, she shattered into a thousand pieces of china when she hit the wall. Marble-like blue eyes rolled across the floor and settled beneath the couch. The irony was not lost on her and she leaped up from the ground.

A picture frame found itself in her hands and then it was gone, hitting a kitchen cabinet where the glass landed in a small heap of crystal shards. Her nails dug into pillows, ripping out feathers and fluff that floated into the air. She stood perfectly still as the white down landed on her hair and shoulders like snow. Sobs that had been held within the whole time released themselves. Anzu succumbed to her wretched feelings of anguish.

Something caught in her hair, she wrapped her hands around it. Rounded edges dug into her palm and she yanked it downward, snapping its chain. Opening her hand, she looked at the cartouche. It was on its blank side, she turned it over and saw her name in hieroglyphs on the other side. She screamed and threw it as far away as she could. It hit the window and bounced back onto the bed. She blacked out.

Hours later, she arose from the floor. She didn't need a mirror to know that her face was splotchy and puffy from the crying. Sunlight was streaming in through her windows, an offense to her black mood. Anzu gazed at the damage she had done in her fit of fury to her apartment. It was like a small nuclear bomb had gone off and exploded in pieces of china, papers, and feathers. Her throat felt scratchy and bare, her hand felt the smooth skin and felt no contact from the chain she had always worn. It was tossed somewhere in the apartment. She snatched her hand down, she wasn't going to care. She would force herself to not care.

The phone began to ring. She considered ignoring it, but in a split-second decision dove for it before the answering machine could pick up.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Bonjour, Anzu!" It was Zach. "I have some pleasant news."

She frowned, she wasn't in the mood for news, pleasant or otherwise, but kept her tone polite. "What is it?"

She could hear the smile in his voice. "I spoke to one of the archeology professors I know about you. I may have talked you up a bit more than, but with your transcripts showing high-school study of Egypt, I figured that might help you."

"Eto... What do you mean?"

"Well, you know you are having the bit of the problem with the visa and all... He said that they may be able to sponsor you if you are interested in the Archeology programme."

Anzu could feel fresh tears coming down her cheeks. "I... Zach... I'll have to think about it. Right now, I'm not so sure about how I feel with Egypt."

"Don't think, just do it! As they say..." he paused, "I think. Regardless, why don't you talk to him?"

It could be a shot, but she wasn't ready to take it. "Maybe, but I really need to think about it."

"Oh," his disappointment was apparent, it seemed she was only good for that, "Well, call me back if you change your mind. But I think today is your only shot."

"What time is it now?"

"Around nine-thirty."

"I'll let you know before three. Is that okay?" She could stall for some time and get herself together so her lump in her throat would be melted by then.

"Sounds good. I better go! Busy, busy morning! Zut! Bye-bye!"

Click and silence. It was short-lived when the phone rang again. She felt like a tape-recorder.

"Hello?" She knew her voice sounded strained.

"Hi Anzu, it's Shizuka," the quite, feminine voice replied.

"Shizuka!" Anzu was surprised, she hadn't heard from her friend in a long time. It was really her own fault though. She had ignored calls from so many of her friends and then forgot to call them back.

"How are you?"

Anzu could feel her strength wavering and the urge to tell her friend everything that happened was strong. "I... I could be better."

Concern was apparent when Shizuka asked, "What is wrong?"The response was sobs that shook all of Anzu's body. "Oh no, Anzu, don't cry. I'm so glad I called, I felt like something was wrong. I hadn't heard from you in so long."

"How did you and Honda do it?" Anzu finally was able to choke out.

"What do you mean?"

"How did you make it, to be with someone you care about?" she continued.

Shizuka hesitated. "Well, it is not easy. We both make mistakes and I guess, love triumphs, right? When I failed him in that one duel we had against Ota with Ryuji... I did not think I was worthy to date him. It was hard to keep a smile."

Anzu had calmed somewhat. "What changed?"

"When he came back from Egypt, he told me life was too short and that he had to tell me that he truly loved me. Jonouchi protested at first, he felt I was too young to be so serious with someone older than me. Never mind that they are the same age."

"OK..."

"Anzu," Shizuka asked, "Are you in love with someone?"

Anzu was silent for a long moment before she could reply. "I don't know."

"Sometimes," she said to Anzu, "our minds will confuse our hearts."

Anzu nodded to herself at Shizuka's words. "Or the other way around. Shizuka, I'm sorry but I really have to go. I don't feel too good and …"

"It's all right. Anzu, call me anytime. I'm here for you even if you are far away right now. I miss you."

"Thanks. Good-bye."

"Good-bye." Silence.

Anzu hung up the phone and frowned at the clock. It was ten-o'clock. She wanted to sleep, but there was still too much to be done. She really needed to call Madame Mikala and let her know of her progress at the school. She hadn't expected to be considered a major in archeology, much less Egypt, two days ago. She wasn't quite the scholarly type for it. Smart enough for most subjects, even more so in languages, but that was because dance was what filled her veins. It was an universal language in the end in her opinion. She dialed the dance studio's number.

"Good morning, Mikala's dance studio," a young voice answered.

"Hello, is Madame Mikala available?" Anzu replied.

"Yes, may I ask who is calling?" Came the voice's question.

"It is Anzu Mazaki."

"One moment please." And there was a slight click as hold music began to play. It was a middle eastern tune that reminded her of the music she would dance to in a Arabian belly dance class. It suddenly cut off.

"Hello, Miss Mazaki," Mikala's honey-thick voice greeted her.

Anzu could feel her hesitation but plunged in. "Hello, Madame Mikala, I've had some success at the college you recommended."

"Good, very good. Archeology is the major you are considering?"

"How... how did you already know?" Anzu stuttered her response. Did she have contacts at the school she wasn't aware of or somehow knew Zach.

"I know a great deal of things, Anzu. Do not worry about it interfering with your dance studies. I am keen on you studying. I come from Africa, myself. My home country is Algeria. Does this answer your question?"

"Eto...yes."

"I have a few students waiting, so I must go. Do not fret so, little swan."

Anzu looked at the clock again and picked up the phone for one last call. She called Zach's number.

"Zach, tell your friend that will meet him at three-o'clock. Is that okay?"

"Excellent! Bein!" He sounded extremely jubilant for her accepting this conversation.

"Did you already tell him I was going to meet with him?" She queried him, suspicion in her tone.

"Maybe... but oh what does it matter beautiful Anzu. You are going to consider it." He dripped his voice in charm and she couldn't help the smile on her face. He was very good at that.

"I will try to be there around two, so I'll see you soon."

They parted with good-byes and Anzu stood up. She felt empty inside but it appeared life had a way of trying to fill her back up with action at least. Her apartment was damaged from her tantrum earlier. She went to the kitchen to get a bag and started cleaning up debris again. Just like the other day. Except this time, she was doing it alone. Every few minutes, she would be overwhelmed by more tears but she kept pushing herself forward to complete the cleaning.

Books were replaced and righted on the shelf. Feathers tossed into the bag and their shells carefully folded and placed on the arm of the couch. Clothing found its way into bins or drawers. Broken knick-knacks went into the trash. She noticed a stream of light filtering through the window and landing in a concentrated spot on the kitchen floor. Some shown and glinted in that light. She walked over to the spot and looked down.

Her name twinkled up at her in Egyptian hieroglyphs. She picked up the cartouche and rolled in her hand, blank side and then written reflected silver on her eyes. Anzu wandered over to her jewelry box and found another chain, it was thinner and a bit longer than the old one. In fact, she was sure this was the original chain that was on it when she bought the two cartouches. She slipped it on the chain and then clasped the necklace back around her neck. In the little mirror, all she could see was the cartouche lying on her flesh.


	14. Educated

Watching the world flow by on the bus she was taking to the college campus made her feel somehow disjointed and distant. People were but brief glimpses, a moment shared and stolen, before each parted and moved forward to where they willed. Anzu felt trapped in time. It was as if she was not part of the interchanged parcels of life. The only time she could count that she felt alive was when she was with her friends in Japan or recently, with Atemu, who was now gone from her by his own volition. It did not seem fair.

She felt like she was nothing more than a ghost in the world, lost and without hope. Conversations carried on. People flirted, politicked, and collaborated. She was not part of this. She stood outside. Strange thoughts moved across her mind. Would they bat an eyelash if she stood up and announced that the world had been saved by an Egyptian pharaoh from three-thousand years ago. Could they even care if she tumbled out of the window while the vehicle was still moving. Probably not. Humanity, on the whole, was a jaded bunch.

They were approaching the bus stop, she stood up and pulled the cord to signal the driver to stop. She slung her bag's strap over her shoulder and grasped the overhead metal bars. As the bus slowed down, she made her way pass uncaring, unseeing bored eyes, or the eyes of more lecherous, undressing her with each step. It was so hard to see joy in these faces. They must have joy somewhere; she hoped they did or what sort of future was she about to face alone without Atemu now.

A small bell dinged, and the bus came to a full stop, knocking her back slightly. She descended the stairs that automatically opened to the street level. Sunlight shown across the emerald green lawn of the college and the sparkled on the dew drops left from a recent watering. It was surreal and inviting. Lush, and it was waiting for her to simply walk forward toward the east, into the school.

She made her way toward the registration hall, figuring that was the most likely place for Zach on a weekday. He didn't mention exactly where she was to meet this professor friend of his. She strode up the stairs leading into the registration building and didn't stop to greet the bubble-gum voiced girl she had last time. Anzu knew where she was going and felt she didn't need to annoy herself with another person who was there but not. She poked her head around a doorway and saw Zach with another prospective student. She waved her hand in a slight wave, and he responded with a wink. She took it as a signal to wait for him, so she found a seat in the decidedly more crowed waiting area than last time.

A sphere of sorts seemed to be around her as people steered mostly clear of her. It looked like everyone had the same issue. Only small clusters chatted amicably amongst one another, creating the bulk of the din. Others who were singular sat on their cellular phones chatting to presumably to family, friends, or lovers. She thought about calling someone but couldn't think of anyone worth calling. Anzu felt she should really call Diamond to check on her after the events of last night, technically early morning, but was afraid that might cause more trouble. If Diamond remembered anything. She found herself reaching outside of her bubble anyways and calling her.

"Hello?" questioned Diamond's voice on the other end.

"Hi Diamond, it's GG. How are you?" she responded.

Her tone was neutral, but still warm. "I'm okay. Bossman is a bit pissed. I forgot to pick up his stash on the way home from your place. How are you feeling?"

Anzu kept her voice at a chipper pace. "I'm feeling much better. All that alcohol must have went straight for my head."

"You really scared me."

"I'm sorry, Diamond." Anzu was truly sincere in her apology.

She could almost hear Diamond waving her hand. "Don't worry about it. You're okay and that is what matters."

Zach walked up to Anzu. He was free of his former charge. His face was alight with his customary smile, and he offered a hand to help her up. "Ready to meet the professor, Anzu?"

"Oh Diamond. I have to go, I'm at the school." Anzu quickly said.

"Is that the Frencman you were telling me about? He sounds smexy!" She could hear the old Diamond again. Anzu smiled to both Zach and the thought of her associate, friend maybe, no longer being out of sorts.

Anzu stood up and took Zach's hand. He mimed a cellular phone with his thumb and forefinger to his ear, making funny faces at her. Anzu barely giggled out a yes and good-bye. She closed the phone and replaced it in her bag.

"You are going to love Professor Knowles, Anzu. He is the junior head of the archeology department. He also has quite a bit of swing around campus. If you catch my drift." Zach started telling her in his rapid pace as he led her out of the building. She nodded as she took in the information.

"It is odd that a school taught hieroglyphs and ancient Egyptian history. I heard Japanese schools were quite different but that seems a bit of an advanced study. How did that come about, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Eto..." Anzu mumbled, trying to think of a good way to phrase it, "right around our last year of school, many of us in the class insisted on the course of study and managed to get the teachers to indulge us. My group of friends and I had visited Egypt. Do you remember those strange storms from a few years back?"

He nodded his head emphatically. "Do I? They were all over the news. It was very weird. Very odd weather for the season everywhere. Meteorologists said it had something to do with some air current coming from the Americas or like that."

"Well, the storms combined with those pyramids did strike some romantic fancies in our hearts. When we came back, we all knew we wanted to connect with a bit of ancient Egypt. It was the most fun for a foreign language and ancient history subject ever."

Zach tossed her a grin over his shoulder. "Ha! I think this subject is going to suit you well."

"Speaking of subjects," Anzu interrupted, "where are we going?"

"We're very close now, we're going to the museum."

"That makes sense. Whoa!"

She almost squeaked when he grabbed her arm and dragged her into a run laughing. Her booted feet clacked across the cement. He has spread his free arm outward like he was flying, and the breeze they created whipped through his flaming red hair. People scattered out of their way, a few laughed and smacked a five off of Zach's hand. She presumed he probably knew those who were hanging out around the lawn. Breathless, they reached the museum.

An elderly gentleman stood on the steps waiting for them. He was dressed in a light-tan tweed suit, something she hadn't seen since Professor Hopkins visited them. His hair was peppered with gray, and he was clean-shaven in face. He wore a set of wire-rimmed spectacles that did not hinder his warm brown eyes. He spread his hands out in greeting.

"Zach, my boy, how are you? This must be the Miss Mazaki you were gushing about." His voice was as warm as his eyes, genial and full of humor.

Zach panted a moment before responding. "Yes, she is, sir. I am so glad you could spare a moment to talk with her. I think she would be a great addition to the student body."

She could feel a blush staining her cheeks. "Zach is too kind-" she tried to interject.

"Nonsense. He is simply exuberant." He gave Zach a grin and held out his hand to shake Anzu's. "My name is Professor Cornelius Knowles."

"I'm sorry!" Zach exclaimed, realizing he hadn't introduced Anzu to the professor.

Professor Knowles and Anzu laughed at him, their laughter increasing as his face matched the color of his hair in embarrassment.

"Ho, ho, ho... Zach, why don't you head back to the student center and I will take it from here with Miss Mazaki. I'm sure they need you with Summer Session so close."

He tossed a hand behind his head, smiling sheepishly, "I suppose you are right, sir. Take care of Anzu for me will ya. I still want to have a chance to take her on a date!" With that revelation, and Anzu's shocked face, he took off at a trot back toward registration.

The professor clapped his hand on her shoulder, pulling her out of her shock. "Ah, come now. You are a very pretty girl. Don't be so shocked. Now, let us go inside out of this blindingly bright day and discuss a bit more about Archeology and Egypt. That is what Zach says you are interested in, correct?"

Anzu nodded. "Yes, I have interest in the subjects. I'm not fully sure if I'm going to pursue them as a major yet though. Zach may have fibbed a bit on that." She followed him into the museum as he led the way to the Egyptian exhibits.

She stood stock still in her steps as she saw a large rock carving hanging from the wall. On it, the carved images of Atemu and Priest Seto were battling. This was the same rock that Ishizu had shown in Domino City all those years ago. The same rock that she stood at with Atemu when they didn't know who he really was, so quickly the time and discovery went after that. It was also the day of their date, when he protected her from that low-life. Professor Knowles stopped walking, realizing she was no longer following him.

"My dear, something the matter?" he asked.

She pointed to the rock's images. "The Nameless Pharaoh and his Priest."

He blinked, his brown eyes displaying a small amount of surprise at her knowledge. "Yes, this is a replica of the actual tablet that resides in Egypt. Have you studied this?"

"Yes," Anzu said, her voice was slightly strained. She could hear it.

Professor Knowles nodded his head toward the piece. "It is an interesting depiction of ceremonial magic-based, or rather believed, battles from three-thousand years ago. Of course, such things never happened in truth, but the mythology is fully fascinating."

He turned and waved his hand for her to follow him. Anzu touched the false tablet, and a tear threatened to fall from her eye but she shook it off. She followed the professor down the hallway into a room full of scrolls and placards.

"This is my favorite spot in the museum. We are currently housing several Egyptian scrolls that range from the earliest to latest dynasties of the Egyptian Pharaohs," he said. She could hear the pride in his voice.

"It must have been very difficult to get these here," she replied.

He gave a soft sigh. "I wish I could attest that all of these were originals but naturally, the Egyptian government will only part with a few. The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities is fairly strict on what actually leaves Egypt." He glanced around the room. "A trained eye knows, but in general, most of the public exhibits are simply replicas. The real ones are held in vaults somewhere in Cairo I would presume."

Anzu shrugged, unfazed. "Sometimes, something is just too valuable to let travel the world."

He nodded. "You're quite correct. But here, take a look at this." He pointed to a scroll and Anzu squinted her eyes at it to try to read the hieroglyphs. She figured her test with him had been ongoing since they met.

"The scroll of Spells of Coming Forth by Day," she said after deciphering the hieroglyphs as best she could, "The Book of the Dead as it is commonly known."

"You are correct." A broad smiled followed this assertion. "Did you know, that it wasn't considered a proper burial if a copy of this book was not included?"

"Yes," she replied, "but we never went into the schematics of it in class."

"Legend has it, that the people could not cross over to the Fields of Aaru without this scroll and its spells. It would determine the life they could have after death." Anzu perked up on the last few words of his sentence.

"Fascinated? You should read _Papyrus of Ani_ if you are interested in more about the Book of the Dead." Anzu pulled out her notepad and quickly wrote down the name of the text. Her mind had started racing. Perhaps, she could use this to reach back out to Atemu.

Chewing on the dull end of the pen, she queried the professor, "Are there other legends and texts regarding the magic of ancient Egypt and funerary rites?"

"Oh yes, there are many other great legends surrounding the magic of Pharaohs, Gods to the ancient Egyptians, and the spells of life and death."

"Could you tell me about one?"

"Well, we happen to have the translation of the hieratic text of Isis and Ra." He pointed to a papyrus scroll on display in the corner of the room. "An interesting tale of her great magic in restoring Ra back to power and elevating herself to his status. She did so with his name." He led her over to the display case.

Anzu blinked. The Goddess Isis restored Ra with his name. She plucked at her cartouche nervously. She already knew from her experiences in the real ancient Egypt that the myths were not wholly accurate.

"According to the text, Ra was poisoned by a snake desired and designed by Isis. It is unknown if she truly intended to cause harm to the great god, but harm she caused. She also was considered the only one to know the cure with her words. To cure him required his true name."

"And he told it to her?"

"It was more complicated than that. He consented for her to search within him for his true name and that said name would pass from him into her. Because she held his name, she became the great goddess that most are familiar with." He pointed to the papyrus, his finger running along on the glass over the hieroglyphs and symbols. "The story in this papyrus is duplicated at the same scroll in Turin. Which gives more credence to the mythology behind it because this one was found in the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. Professor Arthur Hopkins has written a fascinating dissertation on this scroll and the one in Turin."

Anzu found herself laughing lightly at the mention of Rebecca's grandfather. "I've met him a couple of times."

Professor Knowles blinked. "You know Professor Hopkins?"

"Oh, his granddaughter is marrying a long-time friend of mine back home in Japan, Yugi."

"I've heard of the name Yugi before. Do you mean Yugi Muto?"

"Yes."

"Ah he's the Duel Monsters Champion and grandson of Sugoroku Muto. Doctor Muto is known in the archeology circles for his expeditions in searching for ancient games. He was instrumental in finding information from the Tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh."

She felt herself frown. "Didn't the Tomb fall into ruin a couple of years ago?" She remembered when they had fallen into Atemu's memories that the tomb had collapsed after they found his name and Yugi's battle with Dark Bakura. It was destroyed before they went to Shrine of the Millennium Stone back in the present world.

"Ruin... No, we don't believe it is in ruin, but the doorway did collapse around that time. There have not been enough funds, I hear, to reopen it for exploration. Especially, considering, it was and remains the most extensively trapped tomb in all of Egypt. No one is too eager to retread the paths of Doctor Muto and Professor Hopkins, and others."

"Of course." She was silent a few moments, her eyes roaming over the hieroglyphs, trying to remember what each meant as she was taught in that last year of schooling. Some of the more easy ones sprang to mind, but others proved harder for her to grasp.

"Professor, you wouldn't happen to have a translation guide for some of this text?"

"A quick-info sheet, perhaps?"

"Something like that."

"No, but I can recommend some very good books. _How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs_, _Egyptian Grammar_, and _An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary_." Anzu quickly wrote down the list, having to ask him to repeat it one more time.

"The libraries should be open until nine pm, tonight. You probably won't find them on a waiting list." He continued and smiled, adding a wink to his words. His eyes crinkled up charmingly. He reminded her strongly at that moment of Yugi's grandpa. A small wave of homesickness touched her.

"Thank you, Professor Knowles," she simply responded, a rare smile lighting her eyes.

"It was a pleasure, Miss Mazaki. It is rare to really get a chance to talk with a beginning student who not only has some experience, but apparently a desire to know more. I can see it in your eyes."

"Eto...?" Anzu queried, surprised by his kind words.

"I'd be happy to sponsor you, as well. Zach told me of your plight and insisted you would make an excellent student. I see he wasn't wrong."

She blushed bright red. "Thank you again."

"I'll let him know, so we can expect you when the session starts. Ah, it is getting late and I can tell you want to look at those books we talked about. So you better be going." He ushered her out the front doors. "Besides, I'm ready to head home myself and have a bite to eat."

"I will probably eat something before heading to the library as well," Anzu added.

He simply laughed. "No, you won't."

She giggled behind her hand. "You are right, I'm going to head to the library first and then to eat."


	15. Summoned

Anzu ran her fingers over the dusty cover jackets of the non-fiction section of the library. Her eyes rapidly scanned back and forth over covers of Grecian urns, Mesopotamian statues, and other subjects of mythology and lore going back thousands of years. A bit of dust settled into her nose, causing her to sneeze. She quickly covered her face, but there was no stern-faced librarian waiting to rap her knuckles for disturbing the tomb-like peace of the stacks. A small smile lit her face when she came upon the catalog numbers for Ancient Egyptian mythology on the neat white stickers marring the slightly tattered sleeves.

Titles such as _Ancient Egyptian Magical Beliefs: Heka_,****_Hieroglyphs of the Dynasties_, and _The Egyptian Heaven and Hell_ stood out before her. She began pulling them off the shelves. Books on the language, mythology, and, her eyes would gleam on these, heka. Heka was the name of the magical system that the Egyptians used. Anzu had a wild idea forming in her head after seeing the hieratic scroll and hearing Professor Knowles' explanation. She wasn't sure if it was going to work, but it wouldn't hurt to try.

She took her treasures with her to the counter and was rewarded with a slightly raised eyebrow from the librarian as she scanned the books. Anzu gave her a weak smile while handing over her card.

"...Archeology major..." she mumbled as an excuse, though the majority of the books she had dealt with magical systems rather than standard archaeological topics such as buildings and peoples.

After getting the books checked out, she shoved them into her bag. It had become extremely heavy from their weight. She leaned against the window of the subway she was riding back toward her apartment and could see her breath fogging up the window every few moments. Her eyes were bright with anticipation, and her breath displayed her nervousness as it would fog up the glass and disappear. Would this even work? She had no idea what she was doing and holding a few books that might help, but would she be able to do it.

She was distracted and unseeing of everyone around her as she exited the subway. Ascending the stairs, she made her way to her favorite noodle shop and picked up some take-out. Usually, she was chatty with the owner. It was not often she was around others who spoke her tongue, but today, she absentmindedly handed the owner her money and took her bag with her. A bum asked her for money, and instead she pulled out an extra egg roll and handed it to him. He looked at her like she was crazy.

Upstairs, she ate in silence while she scribbled notes on her notepad. Pouring over the texts, drawing symbols and cross references. Minutes passed into hours as she planned out how she would make her ritualistic call. Ability to commune with the spirits was not a foreign concept to Anzu, and especially with her experiences with Atemu when he resided within Yugi, this was even more pronounced. Where with someone else, they might not be certain anyone would answer; she was certain if she did it right they would answer.

As the hours grew later and pass midnight, Anzu finally stopped and nodded to herself. "I think this will work."

She ran over to her desk and dug for chalk. Then, found a few white votive candles in her bathroom and sleeping area. She picked up some matches along the way back. She knew she was probably missing a few proper pieces, but the most important aspect to Heka was intent and word. At least, that is what the researchers claimed. Anzu dropped her bundle on the couch and then pushed it as far into the kitchen as she could. She did likewise in all directions moving everything out of the central living room space. The wooden floor was scarred by the feet of the furniture.

Kneeling, Anzu began to trace and draw symbols from her notes and the books onto her bare floor. She had lifted most of the symbols from the so-called Book of the Dead and other related texts. All she had was white chalk, and she hoped that was sufficient. In short time, her entire floor was decorated in hieroglyphs that created a small circular space for her in the center. It was here that she had her supples and books for reference. Stepping lightly to not disturb her drawings, she placed and lit each candle around the outer edges of the diagram. She then killed the electrical lights in the apartment.

Her only illumination came from the golden glow of the candles. It almost made her floor appear to be stone and the chalk drawings like they had been chiseled. She knew otherwise, but the affect was striking. Anzu made her way back to the center-point and lit the inner candles around her. She undid a small barrette that she had at the back of her black hair to let it fall free around her shoulders. Earlier, she had dressed herself in a thin cottony shift. Everything was as it should be, or so she thought. It was time for her to get started and to be brave. She had to see Atemu. To ask him, why and more so, to tell him that there had to be a way. Even if she didn't get a chance to talk to him, just seeing him would bring her relief. She stood, took a deep breath and released it.

"My mouth speaks and calls upon the Gods of Day and Night to bring forth Atemu, son of Akhenamkhanen. I call to he who resides in the Lands of Aaru to come forth from the dead and present himself to me! Osiris, He who was dead and reformed by the hand of Isis, She who was raised up by Ra's Name, grant me this boon to speak with Atemu!" Anzu called out, surrounded by the glow of her candles. Nothing happened. She frowned. Maybe she was expecting too much too soon.

She sat back down and looked at the books she had at her feet. Her fingers flipped the pages, looking over the incantations again. She scanned the various hieroglyphs that depicted the spells and thought that her spell was rather close to what the Egyptians had used. Her ritual space was as best as she could build with what she had on hand. A scent of galbanum tickled her nose.

"Rỉ mdw hr dwi Nţrw nw Hrw hr Hзwy r nwy Atemu, wtwti Akhenamkhanen. Hrw r ntf ỉmy Dwзt hpr m mt hr 'bз r h't .f n h' .i! Wsỉr, mntf mnt hr s'nh in wd 'ίst, nts kзi rn R', di htp mdw m Atemu!" She repeated, this time using Ancient Egyptian.

Anzu waited again. There was no response. She grumbled low in her throat, feeling frustrated with trying to enunciate the ancient language. At this moment, her mind refused to comprehend that others have spent years mastering the language and she had but a final year of school back in Japan from years ago and a few books at her disposal. Failure was not an option she wanted to entertain. It could mean never seeing Atemu again.

She looked over the words and symbols she had notated. Breathed slowly through her nose and stood once again. Throwing her arms outward from her body, her voice rang with the strength of her heart as she called out once more using the ancient language. Something had changed. A breeze was blowing around her and the scent of galbanum was stronger. It was like someone had turned on a fan. Then, the candles glowed blue for a brief moment before snuffing themselves out.

Within moments, the breeze had turned into a tsunami. Its tornado-like winds pulled papers, books, and clothing from their places and into a twirling vortex over her head. Black clouds appeared and their angry, rolling colors of purple and black obscured the walls around her. Lightning flashed within the clouds and struck the hardwood floors near her. Nothing passed the circle she had drawn in the center of her living room, but she could not believe what she was seeing. Anzu felt very small and very alone in the center of the cacophony.

Motes of white light appeared in the storm surrounding her and began to swirl closer to one another. They were outlining the figure of a person. As they combined in greater degree, more details could be made out of the starry being. Straps of a gown appeared over feminine, yet muscular shoulders, and the gown it self flowed like water over breasts, waist and thighs to rest just over her toes. Hair in elaborate braids appeared around an aquiline face, held back from her forehead by a multi-patterned headdress. Colors began to seep into the whiteness of the image, cobalt and gold bangles and necklace appeared upon her arms and neck. Her skin became richly tanned and her hair the black of a moonless night. Rising up from her headdress, pure white as the motes that had comprised her earlier, was a large feather, parts of the plume appeared to float on an unseen breeze.

"Who dare disturbs the fabric of time, the sleep of the dead?" A thousand echoes reverberated the alto tones of the being's voice. Anzu could hear the words were Egyptian, Ancient Egyptian, yet her mind was able to hear them in her native Japanese. "I am Ma'at. Goddess of the Gates to the Dead, Queen of Truth, and Delver of the Scales. Who attempts to circumvent My domain with their impertinence?"

Anzu's mouth opened but a sound could not come out. Her eyes were wide in abject fear. She realized now, too late, that she had done something she should not have tried. Her fingers clung to her cartouche, like it would be a talisman against the Goddess before her. Ma'at was become more solid and real in front of her. It seemed like everything else around Her was less real. All of the things that Anzu had was nothing more than figments upon the wind when compared against the supernatural presence.

Her voice grew angrier. "Do you dare, you mere mortal, a child in the stream of eons that I have witnessed?"

Finally, Anzu got herself together. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her mind was racing rapidly. She had contacted a Goddess. She was facing an Ancient Egyptian goddess. She knew anything she said had to be the absolute truth because this was Ma'at, Goddess of Truth.

"I... I am the one who called forth. I am Anzu Mazaki." Her voice trembled, no matter how hard she had tried to will it not to show fear.

Ma'at's eyebrow rose as She stared Anzu down. She turned Her hand outward, Her voice still stern and angry. "Why did you do what you did, foreigner to My people?"

She swallowed, feeling self-conscious that she was not Egyptian. "Because, I... I am not foreign to one of Your people, Great Goddess. I had called forth to Atemu, a Pharaoh from times in the past. Three thousand years past."

Hand dropping to Her side, the goddess looked genuinely shocked for the barest breath of a second. "Atemu trapped himself within a puzzle of his uncle's design in order to protect the people. He recently had found his place within the Lands of Aaru after once again saving the people from the machinations of Zorc Necrophades. What could you possibly gain by trying to reach one of My defenders?"

"Because... because I..." Anzu's throat was suddenly dry. "Because... I... I miss him. I need to see him. Because I..." She looked down, feeling like she was being burned by the stare of the Goddess. Tears were forming on her lashes as she thought suddenly on how empty her life had become in just the short time since she had last saw him and how full it had become since he appeared. Her heart hurt and made her sick when she would close her eyes, because all she could see was his face. It didn't matter if it was when he was upset with her, or when he was happy with her, or when he would just hold her.

"I see." All the response she was given.

Anzu looked up and stared the Goddess directly in the eyes. Thousands of stars looked down at her. This must be what it looks like to look across the cosmos and see the distant stars across the midnight sky. She took a sharp intake of breath. It felt like she could fall into those eyes and never return. She knew that all of her soul was laid bare before the Goddess.

"You call from the wrong land. This place of glass and steel is not our domicile. This is not Kemet."

Blinking, Anzu attempted to speak but was cut off by Ma'at's voice cutting through her soul. "Try again where you should, mortal Anzu."

Ma'at swung her arm outward, palm up, and gave Anzu a hard stare with her black on black eyes. She spat something in Egyptian to her that she did not pick up in her mind. Motes of light began to rise from her skin and spin around her, the goddess' body turned translucent and then exploded in a wave of air and light. The blast caused all the windows around Anzu to shatter as she hit the ground to avoid the force of the being's exit.

Hearing the tinkling of falling glass all around her like the pitter-patter from an icy rain, Anzu sat up, surveying the damage, and said out-loud to herself, "No wonder they did their magic inside of stone walls or outdoors."

Her apartment was nearly destroyed.


	16. Tangled

Anzu was sweeping up the mess that was her studio apartment. Every window in the place had been been blown up and the glass tossed everywhere. Papers were scattered and covered with the twinkling shards. The only clear spot was where she had been at during the ritual and so that was where all the rubbish was ending up. She had already put the books she had used on the freshly cleaned bookshelf. Powdery chalk combined with the pieces of glass and torn papers added to the trash. Earlier, she had shaken sheets and blankets out the gaping hole over her bed and had taken a look over the edge, chunks of glass reflected back up at her in the dawn light. A testament to the condition of her neighborhood, no police had been called about the commotion.

She wondered if she still had a mini-vacuum in the closet. It would help with cleaning up the glass embedded in the couch and mattress. Idle thoughts passed through her mind and she started laughing uncontrollably. What was she going to tell the landlord? Would he even believe her? She could imagine herself telling him "I summoned an Egyptian Goddess in the living room, when she left she blew up the place." Yeah, that was going to work really well.

Hours went by as she cleaned. She eventually found the vacuum cleaner and eyed the couch, wondering if she really did get all the glass out of it. The best thing to do would be to get rid of it. She'd rather not sit down and have a shard stab her in the leg or something. Most of everything had been put back to rights, including the mess from just twenty-four hours ago. Anzu couldn't believe that it had only been a single day since Atemu had told her he and her were going to go nowhere. How dare he make such choices without her say she thought to herself. She wondered if he missed her.

She stood there in the room, leaning against the broom handle and watching the breeze from outside ruffling her curtains, when a loud knock on her door caused her to yelp. She wondered who it could be. Very few people knew where she actually lived, fewer still actually came here. She opened the door and was face to black-shirted chest. Anzu looked up and caught Zach's worried eyes staring down at her.

"Z-Zach, what are you doing here?" she managed to stutter out.

He pushed the door fully open. "Your address is on your application. When you didn't answer your phone, I got worried. Mon Dieu! What happened to your apartment?!" Zach stepped into the apartment. He kept talking rapidly. "I noticed the neighborhood was less than, but this is terrible. Your windows are gone!"

Anzu grabbed him by the arm, stopping from further invading her personal sanctuary. She couldn't keep the suspicion and surprise out of her voice. "What do you mean? You just looked up my address when I didn't answer my phone for the night? Now, you show up here."

"I was concerned for your safety. What if someone had attacked you?" he replied while giving her a genuinely hurt look.

She stared back at him, unable to reply to his logic. Finally, she sighed as she rubbed her eyes. "Thanks... I think. Right now, though-"

He interrupted her, his lilting accent starting to fray her stretched taut nerves. "Would you care to go for brunch with me?"

"Eto?" She just blinked. Anzu could not believe how her morning was turning. First, glass is blown out and the studio destroyed; second, she cleans it up; third, now Zach is on her doorstep wanting to take her out to eat; and finally, she was nowhere closer to seeing the one person she wanted to see. Life was not being very fair to her.

"Look, Zach, I'm really tired. I haven't slept all night, and I just want to find a clean spot free of glass to lay on and fall asleep"

He put his hand on her upper arm and pulled her closer to him. "Je t'en prie. Please." She had turned her head, his breath felt hot on her cheek.

Not sure what to do, she relented and forced herself to relax. A simple meal and then she could be home and sleeping.

"Okay, yes, I will have brunch with you." She decided she wouldn't even attempt to pretty herself up by showering or changing her clothes. Anzu was still wearing what she had wore the day before.

He released her and clapped his hands together, his face alight with happiness. "I shall call a cab and take you to a wonderful cafe that I know of. It is not too far from here."

She went to the coffee table and grabbed her purse and keys while Zach waited for her at the doorway. Anzu made a mental calculation in her head of how much was remaining in her purse, she was sure she had enough to get home if needed. She felt herself frowning again at this sudden breakfast date and had to school them back into a feature of pleasantness. Squaring her shoulders, she made her way back to the door where he was waiting, now in the hallway. Anzu locked the door behind her.

She walked downstairs in silence as he continued to chat rapidly about topics of non-interest to her. She stood silent, giving him a weak smile whenever he glanced her way. It seemed he didn't notice. A cab was hailed and it pulled up to them. He opened the door to her, allowing her in first. Anzu slid across the seat as he took his place beside her. He gave the driver an address that was actually a fair distance away. She frowned as a sense of deja vu swept over her suddenly. She tried to shake it off, maybe the areas were more familiar than she realized.

Fortunately, it was midmorning and most of the rush hour traffic had made its way to somewhere and the lunch rush had not yet got up to speed. The driver made good time and in about half an hour later they were at their destination. Anzu tried to ignore the growing ball of nerves in her stomach. At the moment, all she wanted to do was sit down and process everything that she heard Ma'at say to her, but she was stuck here with Zach who was still chatting incessantly about college life. She let him pick her meal, simply not interested enough in the menu. She'd occasionally throw in a hmm and yes every few moments in the conversation as appropriate and it seemed he didn't notice that she was a million miles away mentally. Blissfully, the bill arrived and this ordeal was over. Anzu couldn't wait to get back home and to that much needed nap.

As they exited the restaurant, she made a motion to start hailing a cab but Zach caught her arm and pulled it downward.

"I really have to get home," she flatly told him. Anzu could hear the exhaustion in her voice.

He smiled at her. "No, not yet. I want to show you the lovely garden just on the other side of the building. The owners maintain it. Didn't you hear me describe it during the meal?"

"Oh... uh..." she grasped to remember the conversation. It, like the food, was already forgotten. "Yes, of course. Sure."

They walked down a darkened alleyway, the sun obscured by the close buildings but soon they were in an open, green space of rose bushes and fruit trees. It was quite lovely. There was even a bird bath with a bubbling fountain in the center. A few whitewashed stone benches surrounded this. It was where Zach led her to sit down.

"Anzu, not even this beautiful space, grown in spite of the harshness of this city, can compare to your beauty." He was laying it on thick.

Anzu knew she did not look pretty today. Her lack of sleep was evident on the dark circles that had sunken her eyes and blackened the skin around them. Anzu's hair was lackluster and hung limply around her shoulders. Her outfit was dusty from the city earlier. She had to admit, she was glad she had changed out of the shift she was in during the ritual to her clothes from the day before. However, she knew, that she looked like in a word was shabby.

He put his arm around her suddenly. Anzu felt herself stiffen at his touch.

"Zach," she began, trying to keep her voice calm at the sudden nervousness that went through her like a current, "I really need to go home." She moved about an inch which caused his arm to drop behind her back. Anzu stood up, he followed.

She frowned at him, allowing her emotions to show on her face. "I'm going to go hail a cab and go home now. Thank you for the breakfast, but I can't..."

Anzu looked back up at him and almost stepped back from the sudden change in his face. His skin had reddened, and his eyes were hard emerald chips that bore down on her. She couldn't tell if it was anger or embarrassment. All she could tell was that it made her suddenly very scared. Without a word he grabbed her by her arms and pulled her close to him.

"I don't believe you. Your voice says one thing, but your eyes say another." His voice was low and svelte. Before she could react, he pressed his lips to hers and attempted to seek entrance pass her lips with his tongue.

It was Juilliard all over again. A man who held some sort of authority over her scholastic career was pushing himself on her again. Flashes of what had happened then filtered through her mind, blotting out the invasive pull of Zach on her body. The instructor had been handsome and well-liked. He had credentials where she was nothing but a student causing a fuss. No one had believed her when he started trashing her potential professional dance career. Before she knew it, she was out and a stripper. Even though he was just a registrar, he could see to it that her paperwork disappeared. She thought of giving in to Zach. Last time, she had not given in and found herself without a school. A flash of violet eyes fluttered across her mind's eye. No, she could not do this. She could not allow it. She pushed Zach as hard as she could away from her. He stumbled over the stone bench.

Wiping his saliva from her lips, Anzu screamed at him, "No, never, no! I cannot believe you! I thought you were a friend!"

"What is wrong with you?" he spat back at her.

"What is wrong with me? What is wrong with you!"

"You're a stripper, so why can't you kiss me? Why can't I have you? I'm better than any one of your johns." He accused her.

Anzu's retort halted in mid-syllable. Embarrassment flooded through her. He knew. He knew about her former gig at Dancing Dolls. That was why he helped her. It wasn't as a friend. Just some guy wanting to get laid. He probably figured if he helped her get into school, she would fawn over him instantly. An ex-stripper girlfriend just for him. She wanted to know how he knew but shame filled her to the core. She started to back away from him. He was getting up from where he had fallen.

"No, no, no," she mouthed over and over.

"Anzu, you're so beautiful, I have to have you," he murmured and reached to grab for her.

She bolted out of the garden and alley. He gave chase. She was running along the boulevard, dodging people who yelled at her as she ran pass, and could see his bright red hair gleaming in the afternoon sun. He was screaming that he'd get her kicked out of the country. He'd report her expiring visa. He promised that to her with a shriek. Anzu kept going. She couldn't stop. Even when she realized he had stopped following her, she kept running. Suddenly, the entire area took a new perspective to her. She was near Mikala's dance studio. Anzu burst through the door at full-speed. The bell jarringly jingled at her entrance.

Panting, Anzu bent over double. Tears and sweat stung her eyes and exhaustion threatened her limbs. Strong, dark-skinned hands pulled her face up to look her in the eye. Madame Mikala's eyes were like black stones, black like Ma'at's, and they were furious.

"Anzu, what have you done?" she imputed her, it was then that Anzu noticed an ankh on a thin chain revealing itself out of the woman's sapphire robes, "You have the mark of someone who has caused great magic, it reverberates off of your skin and through the aether around you. All my sisters felt something had happened last night. You must be the cause."

Her answer was to burst into tears. Tiredness, sorrow, and loneliness flooded out in her crying. Surprisingly, those once cruel hands had turned to hold her tenderly like a mother. They rocked her until she had stopped crying, hiccups every so often escaped her lips instead.

She was finally able to answer Mikala's first question. "I don't know. I was trying to reach Atemu." She gasped. It was the first time she had said his name or what she was trying to do to another person.

Mikala looked taken aback. "Atemu... but he is with the Gods. How do you know of him?"

"I was one of his friends, I was there when he went to the underworld."

She let go of Anzu and paced for a few moments. Her secretary was staring at them, her face clearly confused. Mikala stopped and snapped her fingers at Anzu. "This way, to my private office."

Anzu followed her to the other side of the dance studio, pass rows of staring students and instructors. Mirrors reflected the dirty, pale girl and the stately, dark woman. When she was ushered into her office, she could not help the dumbfounded look on her face. Egyptian symbolism dominated the room.

Mikala turned to her and simply said, "I worship the pantheon of Egypt. My entire family has since the time of the Pharaohs."

Anzu sat down at an indicated chair. Her eyes still wide at all the artifacts in the room.

"Now," Mikala continued, "I want to know what happened last night. The short version, I feel there is not enough time for the long version."

Nodding, Anzu replied slowly, "I attempted to reach Atemu in the … he said he was in the Lands of Aaru... and instead Ma'at appeared. She guards the Gates according to..." her voice trailed off as she saw Mikala waving her hand dismissively at the explanation, she already knew this. "She was angry at me for summoning 'in this place of glass and steel'. That it was not Kemet. Then, She blew my apartment up."

Mikala sat on the corner of her desk. A frown was on her face as she looked Anzu over. "I have no idea how you managed to do it, but you had best heed what She said. You know where Kemet is? I presume you learned that much in your dabbler's research."

"Yes, but," Anzu was cut off again.

"No buts, Anzu Mazaki. You have to finish what you have started. I had heard he, Pharaoh Atemu, had been returned to his rest by a group of people, but I did not know you were part of that group."

"But, Madame Mikala, I cannot get there because Zach is going to tell the US government that my visa is expired," she cried out.

She scoffed at Anzu. "His report will take days at the least. All things happen for a reason, little swan."

Anzu's fist clinched at her thighs. How was she going to deal with all of this? Her mind was racing rapidly.

"It is four am in Toyko. Your father should be up about now, getting ready for his day, is he not?" Mikala said to her, as she held out the end of a receiver to her.

"How do you..."

"Stop asking stupid questions, Anzu. What are you going to do?"

Anzu's hand wrapped around the hard black plastic, and she began to recite a number from memory.


	17. Gifted

Anzu could hear the higher tone of the international call ringing in her ear. After the third ring, she began to lose her nerve and also think that perhaps her father was still sleeping. She had no idea how Mikala knew his sleeping habits. It was almost as scary as Zach knowing where she lived, remembering that detail set her heart racing in her chest. She wondered if he was going to be there when she went home.

"Moshi, moshi." The stern masculine tone jarred Anzu from her thoughts, and she almost yelped.

Gathering up her courage, she responded to her father in Japanese. "Hello, Father. It is Anzu."

"Anzu? Are you OK?" She realized guiltily that she hadn't called in some time and he was probably worried. That was saying a lot for her father to show even that emotion.

"I'm fine. It is mid-afternoon here in New York."

"Oh yes, I forget the time difference when not in the office. Did you need something?" Leave it to father to cut to the chase when everything is fine.

"I do actually. It is summer session for schools here..." Anzu paused trying to figure out how to word her request without actually lying. "And I needed funds deposited to my account to help fund a scholarly need. I am studying archeology."

"You are? I am so glad to hear that!" His pleasure at her words carried over the phone. "Have you decided to leave Juilliard and get the notions of dancing out of your head?"

"I am no longer at Juilliard, but I wouldn't call dancing a notion, Father. You know it is important to me." She replied defensively but toned it down before it got her into another shouting match with her father over dancing being more than a course of study for never-do-wells.

Anzu could almost hear him dismissively waving his hand. She knew his habits well. "How much will you need for the summer?"

She started calculating quickly in her head. She figured she'd have to leave money behind for the damaged apartment. A flight on the eve of departure was going to be expensive. She'd also need money to be tided over until she figured out what she was going to do.

"Six thousand American dollars." She said it with false confidence.

"That seems about accurate." He responded. "I will wire it to your account in just a moment before I go to work."

"Thank you, Father."

"I'd appreciate if you didn't let Mother know about the amount." He said this in a low tone, but then brightened. "But do call back later today if you can to let her know of your new interests. She will be pleased."

"I will try. Father... I love you." Anzu wasn't sure what came over her to add that.

"I.. Anzu... I love you, too, Daughter."

They exchanged their good-byes and she handed the phone back to Mikala.

The other woman gave her a white-tooted smile. Her bangles jingled together pleasantly as she picked up a large beaded bag and bent under her desk. Anzu looked curiously at her bum jutting just over the edge. She could hear the sound of locks clicking and then a small door opening and closing. Mikala stood back up, tying the top of the bag.

"We shall take my car to your apartment to gather your things." Her authoritative voice silencing any protests before they could begin. "The money your father is depositing will be available to your account within two hours. By then, you will have need for it."

She swept them out of her office and out of the building, informing her assistant that she would be back the next day. Mikala led them around the block to a small parking garage. A young man with long hair handed her the keys to her car, which was a small, bright blue Miata. It was sporty and looked very fast. Anzu looked over at the other woman, who was simply smiling.

She answered Anzu's question without her asking it. "I like to drive very fast."

Nodding, Anzu took her place on the passenger side and clicked her belt in place, putting her bag on the floor in front of her feet. Mikala handed her the beaded bag and she placed that next to her dark, drab-looking one. They then zipped out of the parking garage and merged smoothly with the traffic.

The top of the Miata was down and the summer sun kissed Anzu's face. Their passage created an artificial breeze that played with her still hastily tied-back hair. She was dirty, sweaty, and a mess, but none of that seemed to matter for the moment. A string-quartet was playing on the CD player and Mikala was humming some nameless song along with them. Anzu had the distinct impression that her song was far more ancient than any Chopin or Beethoven. She closed her eyes and drifted to sleep, forgetting that she hadn't told Mikala how to get to her apartment.

A hand shook her shoulder. "Anzu, wake up, little swan. We are here."

Anzu rubbed her eyes and mumbled, "Where's here?"

"Your apartment, of course. Where did you think we were going first?" Mikala's voice was full of laugher, rich and vibrant.

"Oh! How... never mind, I give up. Seems the entire city knows where I live." Anzu looked up at the brownstone. Without looking too hard, she could see how rundown the area was here. Glass was all over the sidewalk, maybe some of it was from her window, trash littered the street and the air had an undercurrent of garbage to it.

Mikala looked at her concerned. "What do you mean?"

"Zach..."

"And?"

"Along with threatening my visa... he tried... he tried to force himself upon me. He more or less indicated I should be glad for him because of my former job as an exotic dancer." Anzu had a feeling nothing she said would be disparaged by Mikala. She felt safe with her to talk candidly.

Mikala scoffed. "We have no need to be fearful of a mere mortal man. He is nothing. Come now. Let us get the top up and upstairs for your things. Be sure to bring both bags."

Anzu slung both bags over her shoulder and followed the blue mirage that was Mikala. Her sapphire scarves and robes swirled around her like water in air and even the homeless men on the staircase gave her deference. She seemed to know exactly where she was going. Anzu ran to keep up with her as they ascended the stairs.

Standing in the eave of her door was a man with his head bowed over his chest, a shock of red hair standing out against the scratched and worn wood. He looked up as they reached the fifth floor landing. It was Zach standing against Anzu's door. She pulled up short, shocked to see him there. She heard Mikala laugh.

"So you are the one trying to make trouble for the little swan?" She asked him. He looked at Mikala like she was speaking a foreign language and ignored her.

"Anzu," his voice was rough around the edged, "We need to talk. You and me. Now. You have no idea what you are doing."

"What do you mean? Are you an idiot?" Anzu snapped back at him. "It's simple, Zach, you tried to take what I refuse to give you. Just get out of my doorway and leave. You are not welcome here."

He strode over to her, pushing Mikala to the side, whose eyes widened in surprise at the manhandling, to grab Anzu by her arms. He started to shake her. "You are mine, don't you understand. You made all the signals to me. When you came in to the registration school, I couldn't believe my luck. I had just seen you at that dive bar just a week ago. You twirled and winked just for me. So, I did everything I could to help you get into the school. To make you happy!"

Anzu struggled in his grasp, trying to not to lose the bags and get him off of her at the same time. She snapped back at him, enunciating each word for him, "Let go of me!"

She saw a perfectly manicured nail tapping his black sweater. A low, purring voice from behind him said, "She said let go, I suggest you do."

"This is none of your business, woman." He called back over his shoulder.

Too fast for her eyes to comprehend, Mikala had pulled Zach off of her. His body spun around so that his back was facing her.

"Foolish male-child," Mikala told him, "You have no right to touch her." She looked pass him to Anzu. "Anzu, duck."

Anzu did as she was told and heard Mikala state something in a sing-song. It sounded like the Ancient Egyptian she had heard Ma'at saying, thought she did not fully comprehend it then. Zach flew over her in a blur of red and black and slammed into the wall on the other side over the stairs. His mouth attempted to make a sound. He was seemingly pinned in mid-air against the wall.

"Oh god, oh god..." Anzu babbled.

"Little swan, come along now and pack your bags. Do not worry about him. He'll be gone, won't he, when we're done." Mikala beckoned to her and Anzu followed. She unlocked the door and allowed them into her studio.

Anzu ran straight to a closet and pulled out the bags she had used on her flight from Toyko to New York. They were black and utilitarian but sturdy and still in good shape. Name tags on the handles proclaimed her name in Kanji and Romaji, little stickers of flowers and suns adorned them. She remembered when she and Shizuka had put them there years ago when she left to make her dreams come true. A hand-clap pulled her from her reverie.

"Hurry, Anzu, we mustn't tarry. Your next stop is the airport." Mikala commanded of her.

Nodding, Anzu ran to the drawers where clothing had not been sprinkled with glass from earlier and began shoving shirts, underwear, bras, and skirts and jeans into the bags. She took no time to figure out if she was making matching outfits or not. Next, she ran into the bathroom and grabbed her necessary toiletries. She stopped suddenly in the shower.

"Madame Mikala," she called out to her, "Would there be enough time for me to shower, at least?"

"If you are quick about it, then, yes."

Anzu ripped her clothes off without fanfare. She even forgot to close the bathroom door as she jumped under the hot water. She scrubbed quickly and washed her hair as fast as she could. It felt good to be at least clean. Sticky grit had been clinging to her since the day before and she was tired of feeling like she was becoming one of those strung-out junkies she saw on the streets. As much as she wanted to just stay under the hot spray, she made it short and was out within ten minutes.

After throwing on some clean clothes, a long-sleeved pink shirt and pair of dark blue jeans, Anzu exited to the living. She made sure to put on her shoes before going out there, just in case of any glass, and was surprised to see Mikala in the same spot she was in last night. Her arms were outspread, and she seemed to be in some sort of trance. Every few seconds her lips would move, and every few minutes her head would nod to some unheard question.

Without opening her eyes, Mikala asked her, "Are you ready to leave?"

"Almost, I just need to get my laptop and passport," Anzu replied as she pulled a drawer out from underneath the bed. These items she put into her carry-on along with another change of clothes and her toiletries.

She stopped and looked around one more time. Pieces of her life she had gathered after arriving to New York were all around her. Her eyes caught on framed photos of her friends in Tokyo. She swept those into the carry-on. Mikala simply waited for her now as she ran and grabbed every memento and item of importance to her. Anzu didn't know what she was feeling, but it was strong and it called her to not leave precious memories behind. Satisfied she had what she needed, she turned to Mikala.

"Are you ready, now?" She asked Anzu, a bemused smile played on her lips.

"Yes, I think I am."

"Good, then let us be off. There isn't much time left." Mikala grabbed her two suitcases by their handles and led the way as Anzu slung the carry on bag over her shoulder. She made sure to grab her satchel and Mikala's before locking up.

As they passed the landlord's apartment, Anzu stopped. The landlord kept envelopes by their door so rent could be passed through a brass mail slot. She grabbed one of those envelopes now and dropped her key in it. Digging into her purse, she pulled out a wad of money. Tips from just days ago. Could it really only have been days, she wondered to herself. She put them with the key and pushed the package through the slot. Satisfied it made it to the other side, she caught up with Mikala who was loading the Miata.

Anzu tossed her carry-on into the back seat and joined Mikala in the front, clutching their two bags as she made her way through the growing traffic. It was almost supernatural that she knew just when to turn or what street to go down to not be delayed. It was then that Anzu thought about Zach. He was no longer there when they exited. She wanted to ask the dark-skinned woman what she had done, but thought better she keep her tongue.

In an amazingly short time, they were in the airport zipping along toward the main building. A concierge was waiting when they pulled up and Mikala gave him her keys as another emptied the trunk of Anzu's bags onto a trundle. The two women retrieved their bags and allowed the man to grab Anzu's carry-on and place it on top of the suitcases. Anzu looked around the busy airport nervously.

Looking to Mikala for direction, she asked her, "Where do we go now?"

"Is it not obvious?" She responded to Anzu's question with one of her own. Anzu shrugged a response. Tiredness was pulling on her mind. The shower had helped revive her somewhat, but she was still well pass being awake for twenty-four hours.

Mikala grabbed her arm and hooking a finger at the man to follow them, leading her deeper into the bustling airport. They dodged business travelers, college coeds, and families that were zipping this way and that to make their flights and gather their suitcases. Mikala led them to the further side of the airport and a large sign was emblazoned overhead. Its proclamation of which air carrier it was attempted to penetrate Anzu's mind but she wasn't quite ready to accept it. She felt like she was Alice and she had indeed fallen down the rabbit hole.

"Buy your ticket, little swan, your bank card will have the money available."

Anzu obeyed Mikala and walked up to the counter. As the ticket saleswomen greeted her and asked her what date she would be returning, Anzu looked around her. She realized now that she probably would not be coming back to New York.

"One-way, only." Anzu told her. A price was quoted and she handed her card.

A kind voice of the saleswomen informed her that the flight would not be ready for another two and a half hours, but that she needed to go through customs first. Directions were given and a flight pass handed to her. Mikala gently led Anzu away and toward the waiting line. The transaction had processed without any issues, though the price was very close to a thousand dollars for the flight.

"Anzu, I know you have been confused, but I feel that the part I was destined to play in your life is now coming to a close. New York is coming to a close for you. Everything that has happened here must have happened for a reason. When we were in my office, when we talked, I felt that I must lead you here. Ma'at has willed this, else She would not have said what She did."

She felt like all she could do was listen. Perhaps this was not the time to interrupt or speak, so she simply nodded her head.

Smiling, Mikala pulled a cloth-wrapped package out of the beaded satchel and handed it to her. The material appeared ancient, and the texture was of linen. It was browned, yet soft to the touch. Anzu's question was in her eyes immediately. Mikala pulled back the material to reveal an ancient book. Glinting in the light upon the book's face was a golden Eye of Anubus. Anzu almost dropped the book as she gasped.

Raising an eyebrow, Mikala said to her, "This is the Millennium Tome. Once it was in the hands of the Pharaohs and only the Pharaohs. Millenia ago, after the once Nameless Pharaoh had defeated Zorc Necrophades, he gave the book to my ancestor, who was a lesser level priest but legend has that his honesty and loyalty knew no bounds. The Pharaoh supplied them a retinue to protect them, gold , jewels, and camels to supply them, and bade that they travel west. Eventually, they settled in what would become this modern age's Algeria. They thought that they had traveled far enough for the journey had been dangerous, passing through the endless deserts and spending many months to arrive there.

"After the occupation of the French, when National Liberation Front rose to power, my family moved west again. We kept that we were never to go back to the east because of the ancient decree. We crossed the ocean with what little we had at the time, our riches long lost over the generations of occupation, war, and familiar strife. This, this tome, was always carried by the head of the family and we made great efforts that it never be seen by anyone outside of us.

"I break these rules now, for I feel that the time for me to pass it on has come. I am all that is left of our family that believes the old legends, because I know that they are not legends. They are as real as you and I and that if this book were to fall into the wrong hands, the world could be destroyed. One spell, just one spell, set into motion a great downfall. Yes, it protected Kemet in the short-term but can we say the costs were justified?

"Little swan, this is yours now. Take this tome back to where it belongs. Maybe you will be able to decipher the spells and one will help you. I would tread cautiously, but not so much to not understand that anything that is worthy will require a sacrifice of you."

Anzu didn't know what to say, one hand traced over the heavily gold embossed cover. The leather was oiled and the gold cool, yet warm, to her touch. There felt like there was a running electrical current just underneath the decorations. She slipped it into her own black satchel.

Finally, she simply said, "Thank you."

A customs officer's assistant approached them in the line, he had been talking to the passengers before them.

"Which flight are you boarding so we can ensure that all are inspected before they leave?" he asked them.

"I am on the six-thirty to Kemet... I mean Egypt." Anzu told him.


	18. Dreamed

Settling into her seat, Anzu wrapped her arms around her satchel. She could still feel the electrical current running from the Millennium Tome through the dark corduroy. Regardless, she felt a type of contentment mingled with excitement. Was this the sensation others felt when they were returning home after years away? She wasn't sure, but what she did know that whatever awaited her in Egypt was sure to be life-changing.

She looked out the window, the sun was beginning to set over New York and here, at the airport, she could see the skyline so much better than anywhere else in the city. It would still be at least an hour before it fully set, but the bright gold illuminated the clouds and twinkled across the bay. There had been much hurt in this city for her, but also friendships and small joys.

Madame Mikala, with her touch of magic, was most prominent in recent memory. Anzu couldn't help the smile that came to mind on how she handled customs. Her mix of supernatural and charm had pulled them to the front of the line and even allowed her to follow Anzu to the gates of her flight to settle her in. A protector of her bloodline and she felt Anzu had something to put forward. After bestowing her with the ancient book, their conversations focused on only the happy but she knew if she needed to, she could call her in Cairo. She had teased her for being worried about her visa status telling her the only thing that had mattered now was that her passport be in good order. It had been, of course.

Thinking of women in her world, Diamond came to mind. Foolish, addicted to her vices, but above her own world, she had given Anzu friendship. Even if that friendship was not the best of one and pushed her worst traits, it was a friendship all the same. They had teased and taunted together, and, usually, Diamond would keep her safe. As safe as one could be in the underbelly of New York. She was rough and tumble and Anzu knew no more about her than she knew about herself. It had worked.

Professor Knowles who was kind and brilliant, she was going to have to call him when she arrived in Cairo to thank him for his consideration. She was also going to mention to him what Zach had really been up to and hopefully prevent it from happening in the future. However, with the professor's time with her, she would not be on this plane about to travel to a new part of her life.

Her life, she wasn't sure what that meant anymore because the rules had been blurred. Anzu already knew about spirits and had believed in them since her primary school days, but now, it was she living out the ghost story. A strange tale at best, but for some reason, something deep inside her told her this was what she was supposed to have been doing all this time. She was standing outside the glass and the world was translucent, just like she was unseen by everyone else. Everyone else, except, a pair of violet eyes that could stop the unjust on a dime and tenderly sooth a broken heart. Expressive and able to say whole sentences with a single glance. Anzu longed to see Atemu again, it was as if part of her had been cut since he had left like he did two nights ago. An eternity in the space of a second.

A stewardess came by, she had a matronly look about her with silvery hair and wire-rimmed spectacles. She was plump and warm, Anzu wondered if she had many grandchildren and just didn't want to stay settled in a small town somewhere.

"I've brought you a pillow and blanket, dear," she told her, "The flight is going to take almost eleven hours and I dare say, you look like you could use some rest."

Anzu gave her a tired smile, she knew that her eyes had to be red from a lack of sleep. "Yes, I'm very tired."

She tucked the pillow behind her head and whispered, "I think the seats next to you is empty, once we are in the air pull this handle up," she pointed to the center arm rest, "and stretch a little. I'll bring extra blankets if you need them."

With a wink, she moved on to others on the plane. It was strangely empty, but then, things had not been going easy in America with the high unemployment rate and finances for everyone strained. The Boeing was only about three-quarters full. She noticed others already setting up to do what the stewardess had suggested and feet hung in the aisles. Many of the travelers were college students and hiking packs were being secured in the overheads. Anzu had already shoved her carry-on in the compartment above her. It was her bag that she had wrapped her arms around and tied to her that she was extremely careful not to lose.

Soon, the stewardesses were explaining how seat belts work, oxygen masks, and what to do in the event of a water landing. Anzu tried to tune it out. She had done that every time she got on a flight by herself. When she was with her friends, it was not so bad, but alone, it was a little scary. Finally, the body of the pain subtly rattled as they taxied out over the runway and gained speed. Anzu felt the lift as they ascended into the air. A metal cage propelled by jet fuel going through the air. She looked out the window as the objects on the ground grew smaller and the bright blue ocean spread out underneath them, sparkling in the setting sun.

Her stewardess came back with additional pillows and blankets, along with a small carton of milk. Anzu smiled to herself thinking the woman was definitely a grandmother who had adopted her for this flight. Feeling tucked into a very small and uncomfortable bed, the motion of the plane became unnoticeable as exhaustion seeped into her limbs. Before she could think about falling asleep, she was.

In her dreams she was flying toward an unknown point of the horizon. It was bright like a star amid the inky night that surrounded her. No stars or moon illuminated her way. Only the beacon, seemingly just out of reach, was there to guide her. She concentrated on the spot and tried not to let fear corrupt her thoughts. It was lonely and cold here. Anzu was certain the light would bring her warmth.

Movement around her increased and she found the light ahead of her expanding. It was like a sun and the ground below her was taking on shape, changing from a formless mass of night to sand and dunes dotted with small, stinted stringy shrubs to oases with tall palm trees and lush bushes. Sparkling water was just ahead of her and it was then that she realized she had begun to descend from her path high above the world. Reeds and flax reached for the bright blue sky, free of clouds and inclement weather. People wandered between them, and bright golden buildings were situated along the wide river. Hear and there the yellowed hues were interrupted by flashes of color from a dress, a robe, or person's hair.

She turned her body so that she would land on her feet, feeling that she was close to crashing into the hard, sand-covered ground. Her bare feet, she idly wondered what happened to her shoes, skipped across the earth before she found herself able to control her movement again. Anzu ran through the reeds, heading toward the river she had seen. Reeds and grasses slapped against her bare skin. Idly, she realized she was absolutely naked, but she figured it didn't matter since she was dreaming. Everything seemed so familiar. It was as if she had this dream before.

A darkly tanned hand reached out from the reeds at the side of her and yanked her into the thickest of the bunch. She yelled out for help before the other hand slapped itself across her mouth. Anzu struggled, not knowing who had just grabbed her. This was not a happy dream after all. This was turning into a nightmare. She was naked and someone had just grabbed, what could happen next.

"Shh... Anzu, what are you doing here?" A familiar voice hissed into her ear. "You were supposed to be living life, not here."

She tried to speak, but the hand over her mouth kept her silent. Realizing the folly of this, her captor released her. Anzu spun around and wrapped her arms around his neck, her joy apparent. His eyes widened as he noticed that he had a completely naked woman pressed against his body.

"Atemu! Oh, Atemu!" Anzu clung to him. His stern countenance gave way to one of a less harsh lines and a small smile as he came to grips with her there.

She knew was babbling when she started speaking quickly. "Atemu, I thought I'd never see you again. I can't believe it's you! It is you, right? This isn't a dream? Right? Please, don't let this be a dream! Damn it, Atemu! How could you say it was best for you to leave me!" She punctuated this with a punch to his arm and got a small ow for her response. "Go and live... How can I live without you!"

His hands were massaging her bare arms and he couldn't keep the sheepish look off his face. "I just... No, this isn't a dream-"

Unknown voices echoed through their conversation, "Not... Are you sure? … Can't land … God ..."

Holding her tighter, he continued, "No, this isn't a dream. I'm really here with you, but you shouldn't be here. Anzu, what is going on?"

"I'm on a plane, I'm going to Egypt," she said it like it was the most natural answer.

They continued in the conversation, "Doctor... Where? … CPR! Someone... Hail Mary, full..."

Anzu looked at him, confused, "Where are those voices coming from? They seem so far away."

"Never mind them, not at this moment," Atemu told her, "Why are you coming to Egypt?"

"Ma'at told me to come to Egypt. Well, She said Kemet, but that's the same place."

He blinked. She swore his tanned skin just paled and he gripped her harder. "How.. how were you talking to Ma'at? She's a Goddess!"

Anzu shook him off, the twenty questions and weird voices were confusing her. "She showed up when I was trying to contact you. You hurt me when you left. I had to see you, talk to you again. Atemu!"

She yelled out, she felt like something was pulling on her. Anzu looked down to see a thin silvery cord attached to her stomach, at her solar plexus. A ghost of an umbilical cord from birth or something else, she wasn't sure. It led back toward the way she had come, toward the darkness with no end.

"Breathe! … Blessed is the fruit of thy womb... Where's land? … You apply pressure here."

They were becoming clearer and Atemu's voice was fading. She tried to hear him but there was no sound.

His mouth was moving rapidly. Some of his words came through and most did not. "Don't call Her again... Careful... Please... You have to..."

"What are you saying, Atemu?" she cried out. She felt herself being pulled harder now and she clung to his cloak. Her legs were in the air now over her head but his hands were still holding on to her arms. "Atemu, please don't let go of me!"

"Can't... have..." He looked down, guilt on his features, as he let go of her.

Her way back was faster than the way she came. Golden landscape quickly grayed out, colors bleeding away within seconds as vegetation disappeared, and she could see the lines of movement through the air around her. Within seconds she was back in the darkness and the light was very far away from her. Her hands grasped for it, but she could no longer reach it.

"She's coming around!"

"Oh my god, I thought she was dead."

"We had to perform CPR."

"Will we have to land right away and get her to a hospital?"

"Wait for the captain to decide."

"Everyone, will you stand back and let her breathe!"

Anzu woke up to a cacophony of sound and surrounded by strangers. She was on the floor of the aisle on the plane, and she quickly sat up. Blinking, she looked at everyone around her. People were worried about her and a young couple, he had dark brown hair and she with light brown, were kneeling next to her. Her stewardess, the grandmother, was nearby, wringing her hands with a rosary wrapped through them.

"How do you feel?" The woman of the couple next to her asked.

"I'm... I'm okay," she replied, "What happened?"

"Your breathing got really shallow and then stopped for a few seconds there," the man next to the first woman answered, "You gave us a real scare. My girlfriend and I are pre-med, so we were able to help you."

"Oh..." Anzu looked downward, away from the staring eyes. She murmured quietly, "Will we still make it to Cairo?"

"It depends... Can we sit with you? Maybe we can convince the captain to continue the flight if we're with you the rest of the way. We're still over the Atlantic." He said to her. He looked over at his girlfriend, she nodded and went toward the front of the plane.

"Melissa will find out if it is okay. My name is William."

As they were talking, people quietly slipped away back to their own seats, furtively giving glances Anzu's way to confirm she was still alive. She guessed she gave them quite a scare. She wasn't even sure what had happened herself. William helped her to her feet. Her stewardess was quickly packing blankets around Anzu. She allowed the attention as they waited for Melissa to return. She was back within minutes.

"He said it was okay but we absolutely have to keep an eye on her." Melissa lowered her voice, "He said that if he continued, we need to keep it hush about what happened. So, you can't say you had this episode on the plane when we land or he could be fired."

"How did you convince him?" her boyfriend asked.

"I threw a fit and told him we were to be married in Cairo and if we missed getting there in time, the wedding would be ruined." She said this in a false hysterical voice and laughed.

He laughed with her. "Well, not a total lie. We're getting married, but not in Cairo."

They made themselves comfortable next to Anzu and began to chat her up on topics like weather, school, and her tourist plans in Egypt. Anzu kept her answers neutral, not wanting to give up the whole truth to these strangers, but she did appreciate them helping her for whatever had happened. It was strange that she had stopped breathing.


	19. Arrived

Hearing the captain's voice over the intercom announcing they had about an hour remaining until they land, Anzu suddenly realized after the excitement from earlier that she had lost track of her bag. Panic filled her chest and she really did feel like she was going to faint. She didn't really care at this moment as she stood up and started searching through the blankets and pillows for her bag.

She looked under the seat and her flight companions looked at her a little funny. She pulled her wait out into the aisle and fell on her hands and knees, looking under the seats she was in and the ones around her. Finally, William tapped her shoulder.

"Anzu, what are you looking for?" he asked her. Melissa was looking over his shoulder at her, the same question in her eyes.

"My bag," Anzu replied, panic was obvious in her voice. "I had it on me before the mess with my breathing, but now it's gone!"

Pointing upward to overheads, Melissa replied, "Oh, that. We tossed it up there with your carry-on."

Anzu jumped up on the armrest, William reached out quickly to grab her legs before she tumbled into the middle aisle, to reach into the compartment. Her hand moved around until she found the familiar texture of her satchel. Grabbing the handle, she pulled it down and looked at William.

"You can let go now," she told him.

Laughing, he let go. "You are a strange one, Anzu."

She stepped off of his armrest, gripping the back of the other seat as a handhold with her free hand and clung to her satchel with the other. Plopping back down in her seat she opened up the bag and pulled back the linen cover from the Millennium Tome. Electricity seemed to tingle across her fingertips where she touched the aged leather. It was still there, safe. She heaved a sigh of relief that she had not lost the priceless artifact. She closed it back before Melissa or William could see inside.

"I was worried about my passport," she told them. It wasn't an outright lie, her passport was in there, too.

"Can't be too careful with that," commented Melissa, "I keep mine in a pouch I wear under my shirt. You might want to consider that."

Anzu inclined her head at the advice. "I'll see about one of those when we land."

"So, where are you going first?" William asked.

She tried to keep herself from being overly suspicious of their queries, they were probably just trying to make conversation. She realized that she hadn't exactly had an ideal last couple of years and it was causing her to be a little more untrustworthy than before. Her answer to him was vague, she indicated she might to hit a diner and then a museum before checking into her hotel.

However, she really didn't have an idea of what she was going to do. She had a bank card with several thousand dollars, but she wasn't going to live forever on that. Once her parents realized what just happened, she could expect problems there. Tapping her finger on her bag, she stared out the window. It was a bright blue sky and she could see the desert spread across the landscape far below them, the only interruption was by small settlements and the green farmlands near the banks of the Nile. Anzu suddenly had an idea. She knew who she could call, but she had to play this just right. Her possession of the Millennium Tome could help her find a place to stay and just maybe someone willing to help her with the translation. She just hoped the number she had for them was still good.

Ding. Ding. Her thoughts interrupted, Anzu looked up to see the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign flashing in time to the tones.

"Good afternoon, everyone. We will be landing in Cairo, Egypt shortly. All of us here at Egyptair appreciate your patronage and hope you will consider us for future flight needs. It is currently sunny and a warm 29.5 degrees Celsius. That's 85 degrees Fahrenheit."

Rattles of trays being put back into place and seat-belts clicking filled the cabin as people excitedly chatted about the country and their plans. Several languages and dialects surrounded her, and Anzu glanced over at the couple that had kept her company over the long flight. They were holding hands together and smiling. It had turned out they were missionaries and had planned to travel south from Cairo to administer others. She supposed she could've opened up more to them, but she had to keep herself safe.

As she was watching the ground coming closer, a flash of a memory filled her mind. Maybe a dream, or was it real. Atemu holding on to her and letting go, and watching the terrain fall away as she was pulled into darkness. It was the same as this bright, golden land that she was over. More so, she had traveled there, too, as another memory flashed of her chasing a bright light. It could not have been a dream. Why did she forget? When did she forget? When did this happen? Some glittery cord had pulled her away from him.

"Atemu!" She jumped slightly in her seat, the belt pulling her back into her seat.

"Woah!" Both Melissa and William exclaimed at her sudden outburst. Melissa had grabbed her arm to keep her in her seat since she was closet.

"Anzu, are you OK?" William asked her.

"I... I..." Anzu was pale and flushed at the same time. Embarrassment at her outburst filled her, but the greater emotion was fear that she had forgotten something very important.

Melissa hummed behind her lips. "Atemu... Hey William, didn't she say that when we were trying to keep her breathing. Y'know when she'd start breathing and then stop, that was what she was saying right?"

Pondering for a moment, William scrunched his forehead as he tried to remember. "I think so. It was a little crazy. You'd be able to remember better than I would anyways."

"Anzu, is Atemu someone you know?" Melissa turned to face her again.

"I... I..." Anzu wanted to rage at herself. Was that all she could say? Her tongue was sticking to the roof of her mouth and nothing but gibberish was hiding behind it. Hearing them say she had called to Atemu while unconscious was causing more of the dream to return to her, but it didn't feel like it was a dream. It felt real, but how could it be when she was on a plane. Isn't that what she said to him, she was flying to Egypt.

Melissa nudged her with her elbow and gave her a wink. "Is that who you're going to see in Egypt? Is that your boyfriend?"

Now, Anzu could really feel the blood rushing in her cheeks. She surely had to be bright red because the two of them burst out laughing at once when they saw her face. She quickly turned away to look out the window. The runway was very close now.

"Hey, William, if you were at near-death, would you love me enough to call for me?" Melissa said this with her smile growing wider at taking a jab at her fiancé.

Not missing the opportunity, William took her hand in his and turned it over, palm outward. He placed a soft kiss upon it. "My dear, I would hope that you would always be by my side so that if I'm at death's door, I could gaze upon you once more." Melissa exploded into giggles at his proclamation.

Anzu could see their reflection in the window of the airplane. They had snuggled together and were sharing the types of laughter that only people in love shared. Fingers had intertwined and she could see the glimmer of promise rings on their fingers. Her own fist had suddenly clinched at the display. She turned her head slightly and could see other couples amid the aisles locked in embraces or other casually intimate moments. She couldn't help her sudden feelings of envy and hurt. Her heart felt like it was trying to pull itself out of her chest.

She stared forward as her left hand reached up to grasp at her cartouche hanging from her neck. Atemu had one just the same. Her idea, her gift, her plan to help him with his name. Always wanting to give him everything and standing by and letting go. She remembered how she stood there at the stateroom door on the ship that traveled the Nile to his tomb, telling herself she couldn't keep him. What was she doing here, what was this feeling and need that came with him.

Fortune-tellers called the left hand the hand of the heart and spirit. Her azure eyes looked down to see how her left hand clutched at the small bit of silver, this fact was suddenly not lost on her. Memories of his lips on hers, the touch of his skin on hers, or clinging to him be it in need of comfort or him pulling her to safety on a moving train materialized across her mind's eye. Was this feeling of need and want so inextricably combined... it? She wanted to voice it, she had almost said it once, but now, her mind shied away from it. If it was, then he would be the first to know it. She decided upon this with full resolution.

Concrete was rapidly coming closer and she braced herself for the impact of the plane's landing. A few bumps in the cabin and then they were cruising along and taxing toward the airport. She was here. She had arrived and now, maybe, her future could be found here. The events with Ma'at and Mikala had seemingly been the most right steps she had ever taken in her life. At least, that was how she felt now. She tried not to consider any alternatives, else she lose her nerve at what she was doing. Her right hand stroked the satchel that held the ancient book. And this was her trump card for assistance.

Within minutes of the plane's landing, people all around Anzu were getting up and gathering their things. William pulled down her carry-on for her and then they waved bye to her as they went back to their original seating area to get their own luggage. She breathed in a few deep breaths and spent that time going through her phone-book that was in her bag. She earmarked a particular page and slipped it in her pocket. She waited until most of the plane had emptied before dealing with the task at hand.

She made her way out, the last one to leave the plane, and sought the baggage claim area. Anzu idly glanced around her and could see the metropolitan buildings of modern Cairo. Exposed steel beams rose up over her head and ceilings of glass flooded the airport with natural lighting. She could see planes flying over the airport and for a moment felt some unease but banished it. It wasn't much different from New York, just a different culture of people.

Waiting, tapping her foot with impatience, she watched for her baggage to come out of the bowels of the airport along the motorized conveyor belt. She immediately recognized the kitschy tags of hers and walked along the belt until her hand was able to grab it. She was a bit overloaded with a carry-on and satchels on her shoulders and now a rolling luggage case in each hand. The process of getting her tourist visa was simpler than she expected and after about thirty minutes she was authorized for a three-month stay.

Her eyes searched for a pay phone. This had only one shot of working. She dropped her things near an unused one, except the bag containing the tome, and pulled out the phone book. She was forced to use her bankcard as a type of phone card because she didn't have any local currency yet. Trembling fingers finally dialed the phone number she had listed with a +20 country code.

A male voice answered her in Arabic. She just hoped that was hello.

"Hello, I'm trying to reach Ishizu Ishutaru," she said in her best English, hoping they understood.

"Who...," the voice switched to English, "Is this … Anzu?"

"Yes, who is this?" she answered.

"It is Rishid, how are you?" Rishid replied, his voice had lightened realizing it was her, "We haven't heard from you in years. Is everything OK?"

"I'm here in Cairo to do some research, and I was wondering..." her voice trailed off, not sure how to proceed.

Rishid hemmed through the phone. "Is that why you're trying to reach Ishizu?" He offered to her.

"Yes, precisely!" Anzu exclaimed. "Is she home?"

"No, she is actually at the Museum of Antiquities right now. You're welcome to come to our house and wait for her."

Anzu pondered a moment and then gave her acquiescence. "So, how do I get there?"

"Where are you now?"

"I just landed, I'm at the airport." She looked around, she wasn't even sure how to rent a car here or if she could.

Rishid offered her an alternative. "Marik has the motorcycle today, but I do have the car. I can come pick you up. Ishizu will be home tonight."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Anzu thanked him. "That would be perfect. I'm afraid I don't know how to get a car at the airport."

"We live not too far, on the western banks of the Nile, but traffic can be terrible in the city this time of day. It may take me an hour to get to the airport."

"That is OK. I should get something to eat." She looked over at a nearby airport map. "I will be at the general cafeteria in arrival hall two."

"Good, I will come find you there. See you soon."

They closed the call, and Anzu gathered her things for the trek to the cafeteria.


	20. Revealed

Rishid was used to the twisted method of navigating both traffic and dangerous drivers in Cairo. Anzu's fingers dug into the door's armrest with each turn and sudden stop that he made. They zipped passed elegant hotels and industrial spaces. Office buildings loomed into the sky like crystalline towers and were surrounded by lush greenery. Lower class establishments were devoid of grass and gardens, instead dusty sand surrounded them. Tanned bricks made up the bulk of their building facades. Rishid and Anzu traveled over a long bridge that overlooked the Nile, and she remembered the last time she had been on the river.

It had been late at night. The next day they would be at the location of the Millennium Stone. She had walked down the hallway, keeping balance over the light sway of the ferry. Earlier, dinner had been a quiet affair. Yugi and Atemu had both been silent over the meal, still of one shared body. Bakura, as far as she knew, never slept but made up for the days without food by eating well beyond the last plate was pulled. She approached the door and knocked on it. Yugi was working on his deck and when she had asked about Atemu, he let her know that he was deep in his mind giving him the necessary privacy to build his deck. She smiled and told him she had only come to tell him of the next day's itinerary.

She had fibbed. It was not the only reason she had come to that room that night. As she lay in bed, she slept fitfully. Tossing and turning, her mind could not stop racing. She wanted dearly to speak with Atemu in private. She felt that Yugi knew the same. Giving up on sleep, faint gray light was coming in through her room's window. She pulled on her robe and wandered down the same path. She stopped at his door again, hesitant and with her fist raised to knock once more but her bravery had left her to stand there alone and nervous. Atemu's voice had come from the other side.

"Anzu?" He had called through the wooden barrier. She turned the handle and entered the room.

Lights were still on and Atemu had taken over Yugi's body, a new deck was in progress. It appeared nearly done. She walked up to him, he was seated in the armchair before the table, and Yugi's puzzle box sat there still sealed. He stood up to meet her and emotion overcame her. His arms were open for her just seconds before she had crashed into his chest, clinging to him. Tears fell down her cheeks. She cried silently against him for a long moment as his hand patted her head, trying to soothe her.

"Anzu," he said at last, "Come, sit here." He led her to the bed and they sat there with her still in his arms. She clung to him tighter, she was deathly scared he'd vanish right then and there.

"Shhh... Anzu, it is all right. I'm here, I'm here."

"B-but," she gazed up at him, her eyes wet with more tears as they cascaded down her cheeks, "soon you will not be and... and..."

He sighed and turned his head away for a moment, gazing out the window at the growing dawn sky. In a near whisper, he said, "If... if only we had been born in a like time..."

Fresh tears and cries escaped her, she could not control the sorrow in her soul and heart. Words she wanted to say but was afraid to utter stayed deep inside her mind. He rocked her against him, his arms had been so warm and comforting to her. Regardless of his own fate and return to the underworld, he was more concerned for her needs. She started to reach to rub her eyes and try to be strong for him. He must've felt the movement of her muscles tensing to do what he did next.

He turned back to face her and tenderly cupped her face, tears fell over his fingertips as all she could was stare into his intense violet eyes.

"No, Anzu, allow me to wipe your tears away," he murmured to her, his thumb caressing her cheek.

His head had descended toward hers and she thought he was going to kiss her. Instead, he kissed away her tears. Each touch of his lips upon her skin felt like fire and her breathing quickened from it. Her hands clinched tighter to his shoulders, holding on even tighter to him. She felt like she would drown if she let go. He did effectively stop her tears though with his soft, chaste kisses.

Confirming that she was no longer crying, he gave her a soft, sad smile. They both knew that time was short. He traced her lips with his finger, and she had closed her eyes, enjoying the touch of his finger and hoping that perhaps his lips would soon follow. It was his warm breath that she felt over her mouth. She breathed in his breath, shared in the space of a moment that lasted like an eternity.

A loud horn interrupted their moment. The ferry was blasting an announcement that their destination was near. Atemu had turned his head to look out the window once more, and Anzu had opened her eyes in response to the intrusion. Rose sky was giving sway over the blue of day, but it was still too early to be morning.

"I will... I will have to call to Yugi soon. We are almost there." Atemu told her as he continued to look away from her.

She tried to interject, to state that they still had a few minutes left just to them. He stopped her as he carried on speaking.

"Do you see the dawn, Anzu?" Anzu nodded and listened. "It is of new beginnings and rebirth. In my time, when a man and woman would choose to marry, they would wash separately in the Nile's waters at night but at dawn, as they prepared their new life together, they bathed as one. Auspicious... in of itself."

He slowly disengaged himself from her and stood. "Fitting arrival, as in a way, the dawn means new life, so that I face my old once again anew."

Anzu stood up as well and nodded.

"Atemu, if... if it had been another time... another place..." she tried to ask but her tongue had tied itself on her.

He turned slightly and gazed at her over his shoulder.

"Everyone will be awakening soon, they will wonder where you are, Anzu, when they do not find you." He said this lightly, but with force. It reminded her that they were not truly alone, even in this room.

"Yes, I need to gather my things, it is still a long journey." She turned, her eyes downcast so he could not see them and the sadness that he had brushed off her near question.

Her hand reached for the door to open it and just as she was stepping over the threshold, she heard him moving toward her from behind. She stopped and gazed over her shoulder back at him, her heart in her eyes. Sunlight had started to stream in from the window, and it lit him from behind. She could almost see a ghost of his Ancient Egyptian decorations appear on him.

"Anzu," he called to her, his hands were clasped together at his waist, "If another time... another place... my answer would be yes."

She had nodded and left, closing the door behind her. She remembered thinking she wished there had been a way for him to stay and that this did not have to be the way it was. It seemed so unfair. Then, she watched as Yugi truly defeated him in their first and only duel against one another. Jonouchi knew she would have run through the door to the underworld after him. He had to grab her shoulder to hold her back.

"Anzu, we're here." Rishid told her as they arrived at a modest, tanned-brick building. She looked out the door and could see the Giza pyramids as the backdrop to the setting.

"Oh wow!" Anzu exclaimed. "It's beautiful."

He smiled at the sight. "Yes, it is. Ishizu picked this home out after we left the underground."

Rishid exited the car and Anzu followed him. He pulled out her bags for her and loaded them up himself. The only item he didn't have was her satchel, which she kept on her at all times since starting this journey. Obviously, he continued to work out as his muscles bunched just under his skin with the weight of her luggage.

"We are on the third level of the building. There is no elevator... Will you be okay with taking the stairs?" He asked her.

She laughed. "My apartment back in New York was on the fifth floor and I didn't have an elevator there."

He grinned at her. "Good, then this will be easy for you. Just follow me."

Her first afternoon in Egypt was spent in idle enjoyment with Rishid. They chatted on old times and where everyone was at and current futures. As the hour neared dinner time and when Ishizu and Mariku would be home, he showed her that he was also a vegetarian culinary genius. He had made some sort of rice and lentils dish that had a flavorful tomato sauce. They were laughing in the kitchen as Anzu was trying to grab another spoonful before dinner when the door opened. A male voice called out in Arabic.

"Marik! Guess who has come to visit us from Japan, by way of America!" Rishid called out in English for Anzu's sake.

Anzu turned and smiled as Mariku entered the room. She knew his name had a more definitive ending that her mind would wrap around it. It was just like with their last name of Ishtar, she could not help pronouncing it Ishutaru. Just like her pronunciations wouldn't change, he had not changed since she last saw him. His hair was a white-blond mess and his eyes were still the same clear sky blue. He was wearing a tank-toplike shirt that displayed his well-toned arms. She almost laughed to herself because her first thought was that he must be Rishid's workout partner.

"Anzu!" Mariku ran up to her and pulled her up in a hug, spinning her around in the process.

"Mariku!" She laughed happily at the greeting. She hadn't realized how much she had missed them.

"Rishid, I'm dragging her away from being your slave. Come, come, you must tell me all about New York. What is it like? The people, are they as they say?" He had started quizzing her rapidly about her so-called adventures in the busy city.

"Yes, they are but some can be downright nasty, and others are pure angels," she replied, her smile still playing on her lips.

She knew he was going to keep asking her questions all night. His curiosity about cultures and people were unmatched. She had heard through Jonouchi and Yugi that he had turned into quite a 'charmer' with his desire to experience not only life, but the various men and women in it. Before he could get deep into asking her about her life, Ishizu entered.

She smiled at Anzu as she put her books and folders on a shelf near the door. "Greetings, Anzu. Rishid called me at work to let me know you would be visiting with us and that you were looking for me."

"Ishizu, I'm so glad to see you," Anzu said.

"Well, before we get into why Anzu is here," Rishid interrupted, "Dinner is ready. Let us eat first."

Ishizu nodded and everyone gathered plates and utensils as Rishid served up the meal. Topics were light and entertaining as they dined. Almost too quickly, Anzu thought, the meal was finished. She knew it was time to bring up why she was here. Throughout dinner, she had kept glancing sidelong at her satchel where the Millennium Tome was hidden.

Leaning back in her chair, Ishizu asked Anzu, "So, what does bring you to our beautiful Kemet?"

Anzu stood up and walked to her bag, picked it up and brought it back to the cleared tabled.

"I... I have become the keeper, I guess you can call it that, the original family that has kept this for generations has given it to me." Anzu began to explain, her voice nervous on what they might say.

Rishid raised his eyebrow at her statement. Mariku leaned forward resting his chin on his fist.

"I have this..." She pulled the tome out and placed it on the table. Anzu removed the linen wrappings to reveal the Millennium Tome to them. Ishizu leaped up from the table, clutching her hands to her chest. Rishid jumped back, nearly tumbling over in his chair. Mariku blinked and stood up straight. In their shared shocked silence, the Millennium Tome seemed to glow with its own light.

"Where did-" Ishizu tried to say.

Mariku interjected, "Anzu, how-"

"Gods, help us, it is-" Rishid said.

Anzu looked at each of them in the eye. "It is the Millennium Tome." Ishizu reached forward, almost touching it before she stood back again from it. She seemed almost afraid to touch it. Anzu could see the fear in Mariku and Rishid's eyes. She could not blame any of the Ishutarus' concern over this book. They had been held in veritable bondage by their family's duties as the Nameless Pharaoh's tombkeepers, and their freedom from that duty had only begun just a few years ago. She was the ghost of their memories and fears.

Sighing, Anzu's shoulders slumped slightly forward. She would have to tell them most of the truth of what brought her here.

"Atemu and I are able to communicate with one another," she told them.

"Is the Pharaoh back?" Mariku quickly asked her, his voice was quieter and without his former excitement.

Anzu shook her head. "I don't think like that. I... We're... We don't really know what has happened."

Ishizu sat back down in her chair, reaching out for her brother's hands and clasped them. She gazed directly into Anzu's eyes. "Tell us what you can."

Nodding, Anzu took a deep breath.

"I was having some bad times in New York. Very bad times. I won't go into all the details, but it wasn't even remotely good. One morning, when I needed him most again, he appeared. He saved me several times. Sometimes, Atemu would be a shade. A reminder of what I needed to be doing with my life and urging me toward betterment. Others, he would manifest fully into the physical realm. A woman I met gave me this book when..."

Taking a pause, Anzu looked up at the ceiling for inspiration or maybe assistance. She continued with the short form of the story.

"A woman I met gave me this book when she realized that in my desire to see Atemu I had performed a ritual. I... I... I somehow summoned and faced the Goddess Ma'at."

A collective round of gasps met her last statement. She kept going, not allowing them a chance to question her about it.

"I told her I was trying to reach Atemu. She knew it was the Nameless Pharaoh."

The trio in front of her looked at each other in surprise. Ishizu spoke up, "Only those with sacred duties to the Nameless Pharaoh know he returned to the spirit world and know what his name is. If she knew his name, then she spoke truly about being a keeper."

Ishizu bowed her head for Anzu to continue.

"Madame Mikala insisted that since Ma'at specifically said to come to Kemet that it was my duty to do so. In addition, she felt it was time for her to give the tome up and that I would be the one to hold it. She said that I may be able to translate the spells in this book to... to do what I need to do."

Silence answered her as they took in what she had just told them. Mariku was first to say something.

"Anzu, are you sure that he and She really appeared?" He would be one to question, and it was understandable since he was the only one in the room to once have had a psychosis that generated a wholly independent personality and spirit within him.

She nodded. "I'm positive." Her hand reached up and caressed her cartouche self-consciously.

"You do realize, Anzu," Ishizu stated, fear causing her voice to tremble for the first time Anzu had ever heard, "That this book is what gave Zorc an opportunity. The magic that was used for the Millennium Items was wholly dark."

Anzu could feel her desperation rising, "That was but one spell of the many here. What if-"

Ishizu cut her off sharply. "No what-ifs, Anzu, this is too dangerous. I cannot take the Millennium Tome from you, you are its keeper now, but I cannot help you with this."

She had leaned forward and quickly sat back, feeling stung by Ishizu's dismissal to help her before she could even ask. Rishid and Mariku were silent.

"The hour is late. You are free to stay with us, we have a spare room. I need to go to sleep." Ishizu left the room, the swish of her linen gown the only sound of her exiting.

Rishid stood up and bowed his head, looking at the book like it was a snake, "I am going to retire as well, my friend."

Mariku remained there with her. He stared at the book for a long time without saying a word. Anzu didn't know what to say herself. She closed her eyes, she could see Atemu behind her lids. His violet eyes staring into her own. The image faded just as quickly as it came when she opened them, half expecting him to be there in front of her.

"Atemu..." she whispered as a tear fell down her cheek. Mariku saw this.

He was concerned at her sudden melancholy. "Anzu..."

His worried eyes looked at her and then the book again. He wanted nothing to do with this tome of secret knowledge. His own scarred back was a living testament to the pain that some knowledge and being its keeper could bring. He rubbed his arms with the chill he felt in his soul at seeing the book that started it all in front of him. Would the Ishtars ever be free of duties to Ancient Egypt he wondered to himself.

"Anzu," he called to her, getting her attention. Her eyes were so sad and heartbroken. She was lost. He realized with startling clarity that she was lost without Atemu.

"Anzu, I will help you best I can. I feel that you will try on your own and this book is dangerous. I will help you to help protect you and us. If anything, if we are able to translate any of this, we will know what is required before making any mistakes."

* * *

**A/N: I don't put in many notes, but I highly recommend the song Shadow Games from the Yu-gi-oh Movie OST for listening material. YouTube it. A link is on my profile for an AMV using it.  
**


	21. Entreated

Tossing and turning in her sleep, Anzu sat up for a moment in the midnight gloom. She looked out her window and could see the Giza pyramids lit by starlight and the moon. She laid back down and the hard lump under her pillow continued to distract her. Giving up, she pulled the Millennium Tome out of underneath her pillow. She shouldn't be worried that they would take the book. The Ishutarus were honorable people. She pulled it out and put it to the side under the blankets. Anzu closed her eyes again, trying to chase sleep.

As she was returning to her fitful slumber, a hand caressed her cheek, pulling back strands of hair. Her unconscious self did not respond to the touch. It did achieve its intended effect as she settled down and finally slept. Atemu sat on the bed next to her, his eyes glowed in the darkness. He was stronger here than anywhere else in the world. Egypt was his homeland and place of his birth. He thought to himself that it was going to be very difficult for him to stay away.

His eyes fell on the book next to her and he rubbed his hand over the ancient markings. He knew that this book was dangerous. Atemu had not lived long enough to ever see it translated, but he had lived long enough to see to it that it would never fall into the wrong hands again. He remembered sending it as far west as he could toward the setting sun. In those times, he thought the West was fitting because that was where the sun set and the ending of all things could be counted upon there. Now, it and Anzu had traveled East, toward the beginning of all things. Standing up from her, he gazed one last time on Anzu, before allowing himself to become one again with the night.

He was going to have to talk to someone, but who. She could bring down the wrath of all the gods with one false word and misstep. The Millennium Tome was dangerous even in the hands of experienced spellcasters. His bitter thought of the past softened. However, had those events caused by the creation of the Millennium Items had not transpired, he would have never known her. All things happening for a reason was little comfort, but it provided some.

Atemu was standing in the Fields of Aaru again, a man among the reeds of the river. He followed the Nile north, toward the palaces. It was strange how each Pharaoh had been afforded their familiar homes and visions of Kemet, but it had an amazing affect when seeing it for the first time. Dotted in a loose semi-circle, multiple palaces and their cities at their death each took up a portion of the Nile. The river itself had been split to give each of these locations their own parcel of the sacred waters, and the sun shone down upon them all. Peace and prosperity were the standards of the afterlife, each was afforded their position in life and had access to hobbies and entertainment to please them long pass eternity. None of these things had mattered to him.

It had been good to be with his own friends and to return to a view of his own time. No longer did he have to share everything with Yugi, and though he did miss his partner dearly, it was nice to be his own person again. Yugi had taught him much, and he hoped that his lessons for him had helped him as well. However, the one person they did not discuss deeply had always been Anzu. It was this piece of his missing puzzle that made the taste of paradise fall flat on his tongue. What was done had to be done, he could not go on living within Yugi. They both had deserved their chance at separation. It was when he was separated from Yugi that his feelings for the girl had deepened. It was just sad that his time had been three thousand years prior.

However, now, he felt inextricably linked with Anzu. Since he had felt her pull that night as she tried to take her own life, he knew guilt and fear. He had always assumed that she would be fine without him. His own heart had been heavy with leaving her, but never in his nightmares did he see her fall so low. Atemu felt shame for the part he played and blamed himself as well. If they had never met, then maybe she would have gone on to a simpler life that was free of complexities and dark alleys. However, if they had never met, then neither would have felt the way they did, the soaring highs and roller-coaster swings of emotions. Their experiences would have never intermingled and grown. She taught him compassion and reached out to him when no one else would. He would do it all over again, no matter his sorrows over it, if he could be guaranteed Anzu's happiness afterwards.

Lost in his thoughts, he found himself on the steps of his palace. He would have to talk to someone about this. He thought he knew who would be best. There were actually four people he could think of that may have good advice for him, but of them, only two had known him most of his life.

He had found her in his library. She had become a Queen of Egypt in her own right, but she preferred his quiet halls to her own. He also knew that being Queen had never mattered to her. It had been a duty that she took on after he sealed his soul with Zorc's in the Millennium Puzzle. It was a duty she took on again after he defeated Zorc with the aid of his friends. Her heart had been lost when his magician had died.

"Hello, Mana," he called out to the brown-haired woman, her head bowed over a scroll.

Looking up, she gave him a sweet and happy smile. Her eyes were the color of the deepest waters of the Nile and they sparkled in pleasure.

"Hello, Pharaoh." Over the years of her eternity, she had stopped calling him Prince.

She went to stand up, but he waved his hand to stop her and joined her on her couch. He looked all around him, trying to find a beginning point. Mana knew him well and poked him in the arm, breaking the silence with her observations.

"You have much on your mind suddenly," she said to him, "I see that you go down to the Nile every day for long spans of time."

He nodded, he couldn't argue with her observation.

"What was it like for you after Mahado and I died?" He might as well get to the point.

Setting the scroll aside on the table, she sighed.

After a few moments, she spoke, her voice tinged with sadness, "It was heartbreaking. He was my teacher and friend, and my heart. When I saw him appear once again in the sky right before the ending, called by your incarnate, I risked my life to stand next to him once again using my Ka. In my secret of hearts, I wished that there had been a way for him to remain, but I knew that was not possible. Then, when you passed on, I lost my closest friend whom I could've cried on."

She smiled weakly. Atemu looked down feeling lost and sad for not having been there for her.

"Priest Seto, our new Pharaoh by your final decree, had lost Kisara as well. As we were rebuilding our great kingdom, he asked me to be his Queen. He did not want a pompous princess for a wife and I did not want to marry anyone but Mahado, but we both needed a friend and Kemet needed us far more than our sorrows. We loved each other in our own way, and did our duty to raise a wonderful family for the future of Kemet, but our hearts were always just one half of a whole. Our eyes gazed toward the resting grounds, and the time when we would be able to rejoin our beloveds.

"As you know, Kisara stands with him in his palace, and I come here to be with Mahado. Kisara and Mahado told us both as we each made our way here that there was no need for guilt or sadness that we found solace with each other. They even said if we wished to be together in the afterlife, that was fine. Of course, our individual happiness at seeing our true loves once again cemented where we would choose."

She grew silent again and glanced at Atemu, allowing him the chance to speak.

"Mana, if you had a chance to be rejoined with Mahado when you were alive, no matter the cost, would you have done it?" He kept his eyes downcast, not wanting to reveal too much yet.

She simply said, "Yes."

He gave her a small laugh. "I figured the answer already, but I had to ask."

Looking at the same spot on the ground he was looking at, she asked, "Would you for the one you love?"

He nodded. "Yes."

"Is your love Anzu?"

He sat up quickly and looked at his quiet, keen companion. "Your wisdom is hidden beneath your cheerful smile, my friend," was his answer to her.

"Now, it is time for you to tell me why you asked me what you did, Pharaoh," she told him.

"For some time," he told her, pain evident in his voice, "I have been traveling into the reeds. One day, I felt a calling and then found myself seeing a vision of Anzu. She had reached the end of what she could handle alone and was near to completing a terrible deed to herself. My heart broke at seeing her like that. I had to do something, but what could I do. I am but spirit. However, as I watched her lifeline growing fainter, my will grew strong enough to find myself there with her."

He opened his hands and stared into them, he saw one of Mana's petite ones rest on his right. Silent comfort for the pain he was seeing in his mind's eye.

"I could not let her continue with what she was trying to do. Anzu was supposed to live after I left. She was supposed to have happiness and harmony. I had nothing to offer her except support. I had not felt this lost except when I stood there before Zorc without a name and a way to save our people."

Mana's hand tightened on his. "Pharaoh, sometimes support is the greatest offering you can give."

"There is more, friend," he said in response, "my heart is completely torn now in want of her. If another time, and even when I shared a body with the soul of Yugi I felt this, I would have made her my queen. I never could act out on my growing feelings for her because of respect for Yugi. I knew how he felt about her, I had encouraged it early on in our shared legacy, but over the years, my feelings had changed significantly for her.

"However, she is willing do whatever she can to be with me in her world. I tried to push her away when she appeared here in the same manner, but I know she feels just as deeply for me. However, I would do anything to be with her as well. I'm scared she will get herself hurt or worse, unwittingly let loose something horrible if not guided. Mana, she is now the new owner of the Millennium Tome."

"By the Gods themselves, you cannot be serious, Pharaoh. That is the most powerful and dangerous spellbook ever created. It was said that the Gods scribed those spells Themselves!" Mana's voice shook in fear over another mortal attempting the spells.

"I know Anzu like I know myself. Even if it is dangerous and with all warnings, if it might be a way to triumph over an adversity, I would do it."

Mana stood up next to him, placing her hands upon his shoulders. Her warm eyes stared into his own. "Pharaoh, you must tell Mahado of this. He was and remains powerful in magic."

"Would he try to harm her to stop her?" Atemu felt ice on the edges of his soul in sudden concern for Anzu.

"No, no, he would not." She emphatically replied.

"There is more, Mana," the Pharaoh added, "The Gods have seen her. If the very least, Ma'at has seen her when she tried to call to me on her own. The Goddess told her to come to Kemet."

"But She..." Mana's voice trailed off as her hand come to her lips to cover her gasp, she rapidly spoke. "Pharaoh, you must speak to Mahado right away. I will take you to him. Anzu could be hurt if she is not careful. I cannot believe the Goddess of Truth has Her eyes on her."

Shaking her head, the bells in her hair jangling with her, she grabbed Atemu's arm and began to drag him toward the back of the palace. She wasn't going to wait for his answers or attempts to stall meeting Mahado. Her heart was racing in her chest. Even in their time, it was rare for one of the Gods to appear before them. Power such as that calling was reserved for the Pharaohs. The only touch of the Gods that the mortals in current time knew of was the God Cards.

Atemu didn't know what to say to Mana to stop her and allowed himself to be dragged with her to Mahado's chambers. He figured she would have found a way to tie him up and drag him there if she had to, so he might as well go with the flow on this one. When they burst into his private offices, Mahado could not conceal his expression of surprise at Mana dragging their Pharaoh through the palace into his rooms.

"Mana, what is the meaning of this?" Mahado demanded of her.

"Mahado... Pharaoh... can tell you... better than... I." she panted in between breaths.

Mahado raised his eyebrow as he looked at his Pharaoh and crossed his arms waiting.

"Mahado, my friend," Atemu said to him, spreading his own hands out in supplication, "I will tell you the same as I told Mana."

He explained the same tale of him reaching out to Anzu and then her own calling that had summon Ma'at. He shared that she now was keeper of the Millennium Tome. Mahado had listened without interruption. During this time, he had led his guests to a table to sit as they discussed the issue at hand.

"Do you know how she came into possession of the Millennium Tome?" Mahado asked him.

"She had came across the current keeper, a descendant of the spellcaster that understood that the tome could never fall into the wrong hands again. He willingly traveled far into the West at my biding. Apparently, this former tomekeeper felt something about Anzu and gave her the book. Anzu is now staying with my former tombkeepers."

Mana looked at Atemu. "How do you know this?"

Atemu turned and gazed upon the desert landscape, over green swaying palms and decadent gardens that surrounded his domicile. His eyes were toward the sun. "Since she arrived in Kemet, I can feel her stronger than ever. Sometimes, when I am among the reeds and concentrate, I find myself next to her or able to hear the world around her."

"The bond between you two is very strong." Mahado added and glanced at Mana. Her agreement was a barely perceptible nod. Under the table, her hand reached for his and he intertwined his fingers with hers.

Mahado continued speaking, "If she attempts a spell out of the book, she would fail without the key. Failure could mean death and an afterlife at the hands of the Swallower of the Damned, for surely she would be damned."

Atemu pulled himself up quickly, nearly shouting, "Mahado! That cannot happen!"

"It won't, my friend and Pharaoh, if she has the key," Mahado added.

Mana urged Atemu to sit back down. She could see that he had visibly paled hearing such a possible fate for Anzu.

"I only know of one spell that was translated from that book, and it was a terrible spell with a double-bladed outcome," Mahado said, his voice tempered with sad memories, "However, here in the afterlife, the key can be found. The matter of getting it will be a difficult task."

"I will get it for her, I would do anything to protect her," Atemu cried out.

Mahado and Mana looked at one another, nodding in their silent communication.

"We will do everything we can to help you," Mana said.


	22. Delved

Anzu woke up from a soft and pleasant dream where she had found herself in Atemu's arms the entire time. Her reverie over the dream was short-lived when she heard Arabic voices arguing in the living room. She could hear her name coming up in the heated conversation. Ishizu's voice was the most vocal and fiercest. She wished she understood Arabic, she'd like to know what the argument was about. She turned over to look at the Millennium Tome and saw another figure there sitting on the edge of the bed. It was Atemu. His white linen robes caught the sunlight, and he appeared to be an ethereal vision.

"Atemu!" Anzu's joy was evident as she jumped from out of under the covers to wrap her arms around him. His arms came around her and held her just as tightly.

A door slammed with a final word spat in the foreign language. She could hear Rishid and Mariku speaking now, and her head lifted from Atemu's to try to listen. Though, it would not do her much good since she did not understand the language.

"They argue over the Millennium Tome," Atemu told her, "I can understand their concerns. I am scared of what can happen with this book as well."

She turned her head back to him, blushing. Anzu didn't know what to say.

Atemu gave her a tight smile. "I did send it away for a reason."

"I'm sorry," Anzu finally said, his fingers were playing with the straps of her tank-top and distracting her, "I... I felt it was the only way. Something tells me there is a way with this book."

He nodded, and then surprised her with what he said next. "Enough talk for now, I just want to enjoy this moment for as long as possible."

Atemu turned her so that she sat in his lap on the bed. It was then that she realized how under-dressed she was. She was wearing a blue tank-top and matching pair of panties. It didn't matter at that moment that he had seen her nearly naked when he rescued her at Dancing Dolls. This was more intimate, this was in a bed. Her skin was suffused with sudden heat. Where his fingers stroked, it burned with a fire all its own. She could hear the front door opening and closing again.

She ran her fingers through his hair, pass the golden decorations of his station. His hand was sliding down her back to her waist. Their lips were barely an inch apart. Neither heard the door to her room open.

"By the Gods! Pharaoh!" Mariku exclaimed.

The moment lost, the both turned with guilty expressions to see Mariku standing in the doorway to Anzu's room. He was dressed in a pair of tight leather pants and a dark silk button-down shirt. Seeing Anzu's state of undress and on the Pharaoh's lap, Mariku began to blush as well. He ran a nervous hand through his blond hair.

"I... well... what a... surprise, yes surprise... I'm going... Anzu, can we talk... when you're free of course... Pharaoh... Anzu..." He mumbled this as he backed out of the room. Noticing that he forgot to close the door, he dashed back and closed it. They heard him shout something in Arabic to himself through the thin walls.

Atemu began to laugh, Anzu could not help to join in. It felt good to hear him, feel him. She gave him a teasing slap on his stomach before crawling off of him.

"You have given poor Mariku a shock, Atemu," Anzu playfully chided him.

He stood up and leaned against the wall next to the empty closet. Atemu had crossed him arms over his chest, his grin still on his face.

"It'll keep him on his toes," Atemu offered as way of explanation.

Anzu scoffed at him as she pulled a long, tan skirt and white shirt from her luggage. Glancing at Atemu, she cleared her throat.

His roguish grin grew only wider, and he innocently asked her, "What?"

Tossing the clothing on the bed, Anzu replied with a long, drawn-out overly dramatic sigh. "I can't send you into the living room, lest you give Mariku the fright of his life. However, you can't watch me change my clothes."

Atemu stuck his tongue out at her. She threw a sock that hit him square on the nose. He continued laughing as he finally turned around, and Anzu made quick work of dressing. She was sure he would happily take the opportunity to check on her if she took too long.

"Okay, you can turn around now," she told him.

During the time that it took for her to get dressed, his playfulness was erased from his face. Now, his eyes were dark and serious. It was as if a dark shadow had crossed over his consciousness. He held his hand out to her. "Let us go talk to Mariku now."

She nodded and took the offered hand, allowing him to lead her out of the bedroom.

Mariku had been sitting on the couch reading a magazine, or at least, putting on a good show of reading a magazine. He stood up as they entered and bowed low before the Pharaoh. Atemu waved his hand for him to stop.

"My time will run out shortly, I do not want to tax my magicians more than necessary for this." Not one to dilly-dally longer than the time he had with Anzu, Atemu cut to the heart of why he was there. "I know that you intend to help Anzu with the translation. Right now, do not worry about translating the Millennium Tome. I and my magicians are seeking the key. I need you to teach her Ancient Egyptian as quickly as you can. If there is a spell that can be of assistance, I do not want her to suffer a failure due to a mispronunciation."

"Of course, Pharaoh." Mariku gave him another quick bow.

"Anzu, research these spells if you must, but please promise you'll exercise caution." He grasped her hands between his own. A frown was on his face. "We are taking great risk to get the key to the tome, but I know you would go headlong into this without guidance. You are as headstrong as myself. You were lucky once by reaching the Goddess Ma'at, there are other Gods who are not nearly as patient with mortals."

"I will, I promise," Anzu told him, she could feel the warmth leaving him where their hands met. She sadly sighed. "I wish you could stay."

Pulling her into his arms once more, he held her there and inhaled her scent of jasmine. "I wish I could as well." Within moments, he had faded away and she felt his touch disappear with him.

Mariku approached Anzu, her arms were clasped protectively about her as tears fell from her eyes. She angrily wiped them away.

"I seem to be so emotional this past week or so," she tried to offer in way of explanation.

He shook his head. "No, there is nothing wrong with tears, Anzu."

Anzu collapsed into his arms and wept out her fears. Once she had enough time, Mariku gently redirected her back to the table. He left and returned with glasses of water. She sipped the cool fluid. While she was drinking, he had gathered several books on Ancient Egyptian and returned with them. She was staring off into space when he came back.

Waving a hand in front of her, he called her back to the present moment. "Anzu, we have much to study if I'm to teach you the ancient dialect."

"Oh, yes, sorry."

"It is okay, my friend." Mariku smiled at her. His eyes were slightly sad, but the smile had lightened them.

He began their lesson immediately, starting with the same words and texts he remembered as a child. To get through the lessons, he focused on the two of his three teachers that did not hurt him in childhood: Rishid and Ishizu.

Atemu reappeared in front of Mana and Mahado. The pair collapsed immediately upon his return, sweat pooling from every pore in their body. It had taken a great deal of strength to use their own magic to punch a hole to the physical from the spiritual plane. They hoped that no one had noticed what they had done. It seemed that it was easier when it was the direct result of Atemu and Anzu's focus on one another than when interferences, like themselves, intervened.

Sitting next to the couple, Atemu rested his elbows on his knees and cupped his chin. He was surrounded by incomparable luxury. He wondered if Anzu would find a way for them to be together. As beautiful as Aaru was, there was nothing here to hold him. Her receiving the Millennium Tome and speaking with Ma'at had sparked something inside of him. He now had a belief that there might be a chance.

Mahado was first to sit up. He patted Mana and let her continue to rest from the heka they had cast for Atemu.

"Pharaoh," Mahado said to him as he gazed forward, "I think I know where the key to the Millennium Tome is."

"Where do you think, Mahado?"

"If the book was reputedly written by the hand of the Gods, then the key would be in the Temple of Aset, the great Goddess of Magic who is the only being to have known the secret name of Re."

Atemu looked up at the ceiling over them. Frescoes and carvings were depicted there of the very beings they were discussing. He knew that to enter such a sanctuary of a God to take something from them would not be an easy task. Benign requests for blessings were drawn into the walls around him, he had served the Divine his entire living existence. He had served as the upholder of the Law and as a protector of Ma'at.

"There is no way that we are going to be able to take the key from Goddess Aset," Mana finally spoke up.

His forehead creased as he tried to think of a way to get to the key. "Mahado, could there be a duplication of some of the scrolls hidden on Apo on the physical plane? Anzu, could go there with Maliku."

"Does the temple still exist?" Mana asked Atemu.

"I think so, the current age calls her Isis." Mana giggled when he said that. "Don't tell the real Isis. I think she would be highly embarrassed," Atemu quickly added.

Mahado disagreed with Atemu's plan. "Even if the temple still existed and there was something there, the chance of Anzu risking the ire of Aset if she did find it is too great. She wouldn't know how to properly please Her or the spells to be protected from Her wrath."

Atemu stood up from his spot and began to pace. "There has to be a way to find out if the key to the Millennium Tome is in Her temple."

Mahado looked down at Mana, but she had no idea how they would get in. All she could do was shrug. Trying to be helpful, she suggested, "Maybe you could take a walk in the gardens. It could help clear your head a little."

Nodding, he made his way out of the room and into his private gardens. He was instantly surrounded in a cocoon of silence and his sense of smell overwhelmed by the sweetness of chrysanthemum, iris, lilies, willow and date palms. Before he had ascended as Pharaoh in his time, he had designed this private area himself with the intent of showing it to a potential queen. He felt it would show that he was a man beyond tactics and battle, like his father before him. Atemu couldn't help wondering what Anzu would have thought about it if she could see it.

"My son, you seem to have a heavy mind and heart these days," Akhenamkhanen said to him.

"Father, what are you doing here?" Atemu was shocked to see his father in his gardens. Usually, he stayed in his own palace where he was attended by mother.

Standing up from his bench, the elder walked over to him. His dark gray eyes were the color of a storm about to strike.

"I know what has you worried. While you were with your magicians, I have been here. I heard every word."

Atemu stepped back from the man, concern marred his features. Fear was present in his normally cool violet eyes.

Akhenamkhanen continued to walk pass him. "For a son who was so good at all the games he touched, I must admit disappointment that he would forget his very lineage is what made him the highest rank in the first place. If I were you, I would try to remember."

Standing there, Atemu suddenly realized what his father had meant between the lines. The same had been said when he called forth the Creator of Light. He ran into the greenery, trying to locate the man, but the he had already disappeared. Atemu couldn't help chuckling to himself.

"Oh Father, I learned my ways of strategy from you," he said quietly and then rushed back into the chamber. Mana was standing now and talking quietly with Mahado.

"Mana! Mahado! I have an idea, but I need the fastest steed we have and all your spells of speed upon it. Please!" His voice was breathless with excitement.

Within minutes, they had rallied the royal herd-masters and Atemu was atop his old friend, a pure white Arabian horse. Mana and Mahado placed their hands upon the beast and chanted quietly to it. The pair were outlined in a silver glow that was transferred to the horse. She shone like a full moon in all her glory. He could feel the mare ready to surge forward.

"Pharaoh, what are you going to do?" Mana asked him, she was worried for his safety.

"Mana, and you too Mahado, would not believe me if I told you, but I will tell you when I return," Atemu replied, he was smiling and his heart felt lighter. With a shake of the reins, he cried out to the horse, "Hyah!"

Man and beast flew over the sands of ancient Kemet. What little of the roads there were, they were often washed away by the flooding waters of the Nile annually. In the Fields of Aaru, it was slightly different because the floods never damaged anyone's health or happiness. It acted more as an ectoplasmic occurrence that could slow movement. Atemu was glad that now was not the time for flooding as he followed the river southward. Their speed was so great that he could not see what was around him except a golden blur. Only thing standing out from it was the line of blue to his left, his beacon and pathway to Aset.

Time lost meaning to Atemu as he traveled toward his goal. The distance to Apo was great from where the cluster of palaces resided. It was in the upper portion of the kingdom, a small island in the middle of the southern blue Nile. However, the island was host to a great temple to the Goddess Aset. She would hear him in those halls above all others.

Terrain was changing around him, he could see that the river was becoming wider. He was almost there. He turned the mare slightly, to where she collide with the river. Instead, she skipped across. Atemu could hear the sound of water parting from their wake, but not see it. Within seconds, his horse came to a stop before a magnificent, ivory temple. She reared back on her hind legs and twisted slightly as she neighed out a challenge.

Atemu patted her damp neck. "It seems you are ready for this as well my friend. I can only hope that what my father said was the key to this play."

He dismounted and led the horse over to a small part of the island where there was shade and water. Securing her to a nearby palm, he turned to face his next challenge. Rising up against the skyline was the Temple of Aset, the Queen Goddess Herself. Before Her powers as a Goddess were granted by Re, She was strong in the ways of heka and many came to Her for assistance with all maladies. She was even able to reform Her Husband, Asar who is also known as Osiris, when He was brutally murdered by His Brother, Setekh.

Entering the temple, he was immediately felt the atmosphere drop several degrees. Even under the constant sun of the land, the marble and ivory temple was still chilly inside. He rubbed his palms over his bare forearms to keep warmer and continued into the very heart. Atemu could not help his surprise that Aset's handmaidens were letting him pass without a word. They simply parted as he approached the great altar. A splendid throne made of gold and lapis sat behind it, a large golden mural of the sun at midday was the prominent decoration of the back.

A beautiful woman wearing a long, thin, nearly transparent, shift walked around the throne and sat down in it. Her headdress was an elaborate mock-up of the same throne She sat in and more gold and bejeweled decorations covered Her neck and arms.

Atemu fell to his knees before her and abjected himself in her presence. "Aset, Mother of God, Aset of the Great Magic, Aset the Ruler of Rolls, Aset who in all Her Aspects in all places Her Spirit desires to be, I, Atemu, son of Akhenamkhanen and a Pharaoh of Kemet, come to stand before You as Brother and Kin and in My Own Name."

He sense Her smile in Her voice, "Arise, Little Brother, Atemu, of Our Great Houses and a Protector of Ma'at and Kemet."

Atemu stood up once again and faced Her from over Her altar. He had dressed carefully for this occasion while he had waited for the horse. Badges from all his offices were engraved into the heavy gold jewelery that adorned his neck and arms. His own headdress, not nearly as elaborate as the Goddess', shone in the half-light of the temple and the Eye of Anubis, the God Himself known as Inpu, decorated his forehead.

"I know why you are here, Atemu," She told him, Her voice echoing through the chamber, "You know I cannot give you what you seek. To do so, could cause a great calamity."

He gasped, but held his ground before Her, and replied, "It is understandable the concern over the key to the Millennium Tome, Great Goddess, for in the wrong hands, it could truly destroy the world and set loose darkness as we have never seen upon Kemet."

"Then why do you seek it?"

"Because," Atemu took a deep breath and continued, "the hands that hold the tome do not seek out the spells of destruction, but the spells of light, creation and rebirth."

She leaned forward, her grin continued to play at her lips. Atemu figured this must be what it is like for the fly in front of the spider. "What use would they have for spells of life, Atemu? Those spells are only used to restore life, not create it anew."

"There is a mortal woman that I am..." Atemu paused. He wasn't sure how to describe his relationship with Anzu. Certainly, they felt great passion for one another, but he had not outright asked her how she felt about him. "...that I feel deep emotion for and we share a connection that transcends the veil between the spirit and physical realms. As another who has shared this position in the past, surely You could understand."

Aset moved back in Her throne, She was idle and perfectly at ease. "Yes, and I found My own way to restore My Husband."

Frowning, Atemu thought again about the Goddess and then he grinned. "Great Goddess Aset, it is known that Inpu, God of the Guardian Gates to Tuat, resents the fact that He was forced by Re to share His knowledge with mortals. It is also know that Inpu's Father is none other than Setekh. Give me the key to transcend the boundaries of the Gate, and you will surely upset the son and enrage the father." Atemu paused and then twisted his body, pointing toward Aset. "The God who tried to destroy Your Husband, Asar!"

She began to chuckle, Atemu dropped his arm. She stood up and began to walk around the altar toward him, he involuntarily took a step back.

"You are a great player of games, Little Brother." she told him, "Your ploy is effective. Nothing more would give me such pleasure than to see Setekh annoyed or upset. However, Atemu, if you take this key back to your mortal woman, any of her shortcomings will fall upon you."

Aset clasped Her hands together and pulled them apart, appearing in golden light was a tightly rolled scroll. She plucked it from where it floated in front of Her, and its glow dimmed. Atemu stood as still as he possibly could. If he attempted to reach for it with Her formally giving it to him there would be consequences for such disrespect, and he was too close to his goal now.

"You are powerful, Atemu, I hope you are not making a mistake and thereby, lose your status as one among Us. If anyone, including Re, asks, even on pain of destruction, I did not give this willingly to you. You will allow yourself branded a thief if you are caught." Her voice had lost all the former gaiety and amusement from earlier. It became even lower with Her final threat. "If you do reveal the source of this, even the teeth of Ammit and the eternal damnation with no hope of rebirth will be little compared to what I could do to you."

She pointed at his face with the scroll with Her final statement. Atemu couldn't help suddenly thinking that he hoped Anzu either knew what she was doing or didn't do anything at all. This could turn out very bad. Aset nodded, and he wrapped his hand around the scroll, taking it from the Goddess. She vanished before his eyes after the exchange. He wondered if he and Anzu were playing into some game the Gods had already designed.

Heavier in mind, but knowing he had to get this to Anzu, he quickened his pace back to the waiting horse. As he rode back, their speed faster than the winds themselves, he thought of her again and wondered how she was doing. Meanwhile, unbeknown to Atemu, weeks had passed in the land of the living.


	23. Translated

Anzu laid her head down on the table, frustration evident on her features. It had been a trying three weeks since Atemu had decreed to Mariku to teach her Ancient Egyptian. They had focused on the Eighteenth Dynasty, since that was the known period when a Millennium Tome spell was cast. It stood to reason that this time period of language would be sufficient. She just hoped he was right. It was getting Ishizu on board with their studies that had led to many migraines.

The elder sister had not believed her brother when he told her the Pharaoh that they had helped send to the underworld had spent time in their home that day. She further didn't believe that he had told Mariku to teach Anzu, and that a key to the Millennium Tome would be forthcoming. But days had passed into weeks, and Ishizu allowed the study, only because they had kept the spellbook itself locked away in Anzu's things. Anzu was just thankful she was not out on the streets of Egypt. That had come very close as well.

She could still hear Ishizu's voice in her head, "Anzu, and you as well Marik, should both know what dabbling in forces you do not understand can bring! Look at what that put our entire lineage through. Forced to endure our existence underground so as not to forget our duties until the time the Nameless Pharaoh returned. He returned, is Named, and is gone. Can we not rest? Must we be on beck and call for our entire existence? Will our future generation?"

They had bowed their heads to her but were resolute that the research must go on. There were no answers if the Ishutarus would be forever bound to the Dynasties of the past. Anzu could only focus on what was happening now, and the now entailed trying to find out if there was even a possibility of being with Atemu. Mikala had given her the tools and hope, she had to use them. She tried to keep thinking on the positive side. Regardless of what happened, she did have a strong chance to go to an archaeological program in the future. Mariku was an excellent teacher, and they now communicated almost fully in the ancient dialect for all conversations.

During the language boot-camp, Rishid had been a stoic guardian to her. She suspected he was intrigued by her, and if her heart had not already found its match, he could have come close. Quiet and secure, he had also played a role in getting Ishizu to accept the language training and Pharaoh's request. It had been his idea to secure the tome in a small safe that they housed under Anzu's bed. If it came to mystical versus physical forces, she had doubted the safe would have mattered, but it made Ishizu feel better and at least it was not out where a stranger or thief could have easily found it.

Rishid was currently cooking, it was his night. Life at the Ishutarus had taken on a bit of normalcy for Anzu. Every other night, another member of the home would cook, one would clean, and another had a day of rest. With Anzu, she tried to her best to help but usually she would clean up after meals and help someone tidy the house. Ishizu was currently reading one of her files, keeping track of all of the artifacts of Egypt and where they were in the world was a career that had no end of day time. Mariku was in school, and usually on his off days he would be about, but with her arrival he spent all his time helping her. On occasions he had a date, Rishid would keep her company by taking her to a movie or tour around Cairo.

"Atemu," she said to herself, her face buried in her arms, "where are you?"

A featherlight whisper answered her, breath warm on her ear, "I'm right here, Anzu."

She jumped up and turned to face where she heard the whisper. Atemu was coalescing in front of her. Motes of golden light was taken on his features and within seconds, he had materialized in the dining area. Aznu cried out happily as she launched herself into his arms. Everyone turned and stared. She could hear a spoon dropping in the open kitchen, papers falling to the floor, and Mariku's four-word sentence of "I told you so." None of that mattered to her though. The only thing that meant anything was the nearly real feeling of Atemu's arms enfolding her in his embrace.

"I've missed you," she said to him.

He looked around the apartment, realizing that several key items had changed since last he had been there. "How long have I been gone?"

Mariku spoke up, his voice calm, "Almost three weeks to the day, Pharaoh Atemu."

Rishid had joined Ishizu over by her desk. She was standing now and had grasped her older brother's arm. Anzu noticed a flash of emotion in Rishid's golden eyes, but then a nearly impenetrable mask had come over the scarred man.

Finally, Ishizu murmured, "It is the Pharaoh, our family will never be free of duty." Her crystal-blue eyes were wide in shock.

"Ishizu, Rishid," Atemu released Anzu and held his hands out to them as he spoke, "Do not be afraid. My presence and connection will hopefully not add future burden to your family."

She nodded, accepting his answer.

Rishid spoke up next. "I must admit, we did not truly believe, Pharaoh. Our apologies." He bowed his head.

Atemu nodded to the other man before turning his attention back to Anzu.

"There isn't much time and I have no way to transport the key to you here. Please bring me paper. I will write all I can, and then when I am too weak to write it, dictate it to you and Mariku. After that, I will have to go back and then will return again, and again, until you have the entire scroll. However, I must be careful not to tax my magicians for their life force is helping to fuel my presence here."

"Mariku!" Anzu turned and cried out to her tutor, "Where is the paper and pencils?"

"I'm getting them now, Anzu, no worries." He called back from Ishizu's desk, already anticipating the need. Lead and colored pencils were in his hands along with several notebooks. Mariku rushed back and placed them in the center of the table.

Atemu tried to pick up one of the pencils but his fingers passed through it like it was made of water. Frowning, he tried again. He slammed his hand through the table and it just went through it. Frustration played across his features. This could not be happening, it would take much longer for him to describe the cyphers to them. If he could only get them started. He looked up at Mariku and then Anzu, shaking his head as he did.

"I will have to describe them to you, I simply do not have enough power to affect this plane."

"We cannot give up," Anzu declared, "We must try. If you have to describe them to us, then so be it!"

Anzu reached out and gripped his other hand tightly in her own, willing that he share with her strength. A strength she could only feel when they were together. Ishizu gasped out loud and pointed to Atemu. A hazy golden glow enveloped both Anzu and Atemu. Anzu looked down at the offending pencil and pointed to it with her free hand.

"Atemu, I have faith in you!" She cried out as he reached toward it once again.

This time, his hand wrapped around it. He twisted it around so he could write and turned his head to face her, appreciation in his dark purple eyes. Atemu squeezed her hand in return.

"Together, we are so much stronger than apart," he said to her.

Ishizu and Rishid had approached the table and along with Mariku, sat down. For the next hour, the passed papers and pencils to replenish any filled pages with empty and any broken lead with new ones. Atemu was singularly focused on his task before him. Anzu was unable to leave her seat, else whatever power she was lending would be cut off. She could not believe the sheer amount of symbols that were being drawn. Ishizu would point at one and explain how the key symbol had very little to do with the originating symbol. It was no wonder that only one spell was translated and not used to decipher the entire Millennium Tome. The hieroglyphs were used for thousands of words in thousands of combinations and this also offered thousands of combinations.

Even with the force of Anzu's will, in time, Atemu began to fade. His latest pencil fell through his fingers and he was unable to pick it back up. It was decided that he would start describing the symbols so that they could be drawn down correctly. With the first one, Mariku started to struggle. Some of the words were slightly archaic, at least they were not seen often in the sculptures and scrolls.

"I will transcribe for you, Pharaoh," Ishizu interrupted her brother and pulled the notebook from him. "We will be able to get more words written down if I am doing it. I have the most experience with the old language."

"Ishizu..." Anzu looked at her. She could see belief in the other woman's eyes now.

Atemu nodded to Ishizu. "Thank you."

It took two weeks of three hour sessions each night for them to get the scroll copied. Each time Atemu appeared, Anzu would take her place to lend her will to him. When they became weaker, Ishizu would take over with transcribing. Daily life was adjusted around Atemu's appearances with meals taken earlier. That first night, they had not realized they had forgotten dinner until smoke and blackened smells from the kitchen had notified them that it would be take-out that evening.

Lack of sleep had also began to take its toll on her. She would receive phone calls at midnight from her friends in Tokyo. Normally, this had not been a problem in New York because it would be early evening in America. She had to keep her guise up that she was still in America. She had told no one of her movement to Egypt. When questioned on what happened to her home phone number, she simply shrugged it off to them and claimed she preferred the rates of her international cell phone.

It was on the last night of transcription that Atemu insisted she take time to rest before using the key to break down the final spells in the book. Mariku had begun the translations during his days out of school, and when she was awake, she was working with what they had as well. As a result they were more than three-quarters into releasing the information from the ancient plates. They kept the book out of Ishizu's sight. While she now believed in the Pharaoh, Mariku and Anzu felt that they shouldn't push their luck with her.

Rishid offered to take Anzu to a spa not far so she could replenish her resources and strength in absolute relaxation. Remembering the hot springs back in Japan, she hoped for an experience similar to that and was eager for the adventure. All the others, including Atemu, urged it. It was decided the next

day, she would go. That night, Anzu turned her phone off to allow herself at least one peaceful night. After tomorrow's day of relaxation, she would have to get back to work.

Early that morning after a wholesome breakfast of fava bean cakes and eggs shared with her friends, Rishid led her to the car as they said good-bye to Mariku and Ishizu.

"I have a surprise for you," he told her. "We're not going to just any ordinary spa."

"Oh?" She was intrigued. There were many spas throughout Cairo and Giza.

He drove them to the Four Seasons. Blinking, she looked up at the gorgeous facade of one of the best hotels in the area. Rishid handed the keys to the valet and led her to the spa area of the hotel. It was still early and time was available for her day. He spoke in Arabic to the receptionist, who smiled brightly and nodded. She clapped her hands together and two female attendants came into the room. In lightly accented English, they bade that Anzu follow them.

What followed was quite possibly the most beautifully relaxed day she had ever experienced. Pampered with a loofah brushing and then body scrub with sea salt and oils, she spent over an hour after that being massaged with traditional oils and heated poultices. Finally, she was given a luxurious facial. Anzu felt limp from the pleasure of the pampering and when lunch came, she felt like her body was filled with jelly. Rishid had also enjoyed the pleasures of the spa, and they had a light lunch in the Tea Lounge.

As they were sitting back, sipping their tea, Rishid spoke to her, his tone slightly quiet, "Until two weeks ago, I had not believed you or Mariku regarding the Pharaoh. Accept my apologies for doubting you, Anzu."

"Oh, Rishid, there is nothing to be apologetic about, my friend," Anzu replied, a smile playing at her lips, "I would be hard-pressed to believe myself if it was someone else."

He nodded. Always quiet and self-assured, he did draw attention from the scars that decorated his face. One saw hieroglyphs on tombs, not men's faces, in Egypt. Since they were in a tourist area, he got more than a few stares, but if he noticed, he didn't say a thing. Anzu admired that quality in him, the ability not to be flustered by others ignorant reactions.

Continuing the train of thought, Anzu added, "Mariku and I will be so busy in the coming days, but I think we can translate the tome much more quickly than it took to get the key. We are already more than three-quarters through the text. However, I couldn't tell you what was in there... it's translate, translate, think later." She laughed lightly.

Taking a sip of his tea, he looked down, golden eyes concealed for a brief moment, "Anzu, are you sure about what you are doing?"

"What do you mean?" She couldn't help her frown when she asked her question.

He looked back up, gazing at her, "Anzu, you are one of the smartest, most beautiful young women I know, why do you feel strongly for someone who does not live?"

Anzu turned her head to gaze at the blue, stained-glass window of the lounge and wrapped her hands around the warm cup. "Why do the birds fly? Why does the sun shine? I suppose when I have those answers, I could answer your question."

"Have you thought about if it does not succeed? What of a family?" He queried.

Trying not to be annoyed by the questioning, though she did have to admit he was bringing up a good point, Anzu replied, "If whatever Divine out there feels that I am deserving enough to have children someday, then I will. I don't know. I'm not going to forcibly pursue a family, it has to come naturally and from the heart of a loving relationship."

"As to if I don't succeed," she turned back to face him in the eyes, her blue ones dark with determination, "If I never try, then I have already failed."

She saw that rare smile of his break out on his face. "Anzu, you are... amazing. I wish I was as lucky as Pharaoh to have a woman like you caring for me."

Anzu felt her blush heat her cheeks as she mumbled thanks. Fortunately, at that moment, the waitress arrived with their check. She offered to pay for lunch, he had paid for what she knew had to be an extremely expensive day at the spa, but he refused her money. She accepted it and understood that it must be rare for him to be able to take time away from his family duties to just enjoy the company of someone unrelated. Her thought was let him spoil her if it makes him happy.

The rest of their day was spent browsing through shops and gardens, and generally acting like tourists their first time in Cairo. Never mind that Anzu had taken to wearing the same type of dresses that Ishizu favored and Rishid was obviously Egyptian, they still played the role. It made it more enjoyable and allowed them to reopen their eyes to the beauties of the city. By the time they made their way home, the sun was setting and painting the sky a splendid array of colors that reflected on the pyramids overlooking the flat.

It was Ishizu's night to cook and she was in the kitchen. As they entered she called out a greeting and quickly dipped back behind the stove. Mariku was in Anzu's room at the small desk in there. She could see the notebooks that laid on the desk and bed from the living room. Turning, she stepped on tip-toe and gave Rishid a kiss on the cheek. She could swear he blushed.

"Thank you for a lovely day, Rishid, I shall never forget it."

He bowed at his waist, and told her, "You're welcome." He then went to assist Ishizu.

Anzu bounded into her room and dropped off her shopping bags from the day and sat down to join Mariku in the work. He had copied many of the symbols over in the books, and the pages had a blank line specifically for the translation to be fitted into beneath the cyphered words. Many of these were mostly filled due to their prior work. She could sense that Mariku was glancing at her. Every so often, she would catch a glimmer of his violet-blue eyes from the corner of her own and then they'd return to what he had in front of him.

Mariku ran his fingers down the pages of their notebooks. Many of the ancient spells had been translated from the cyphered ones into hieroglyphs and then transliterated into Ancient Egyptian. Words kept throwing themselves up at him as he read the requirements for each known one. In every one of them, certain words appeared, words he did not want to tell Anzu but he had no choice. She was wholly occupied not in what the spells were saying but in simply the translation and the titles, looking for anything that might bring Atemu to her.

"Anzu." Mariku interrupted her. She turned to look at him, her features showing she had been waiting for him to speak. "Anzu... All of these spells... require..."

His hesitancy made her think of what Rishid had said earlier about would she succeed, her voice was shaper than she intended when she answered, "What? They require what?"

Mariku looked down back at his page. "A sacrifice. Always a sacrifice. Be it in skin, hair, blood or … body."

"Sacrifice?" She asked him. "What is... the sacrifice requirement?" Anzu swallowed. Mariku would not be this confused if it wasn't what she feared it was.

"Human, Anzu. The sacrifice is always something from the caster or a person used by the caster. The creation of the Millennium Items just simply required one of the greater sacrifices."


	24. Penned

Anzu couldn't believe what she was hearing. That was impossible, why would there be sacrifices like that. Mariku had to have missed something. They weren't fully complete with translating all the spells. Some of the Millennium Tome dealt specifically with the information from the Spells of Coming Forth by Day, also known as the Egyptian Book of the Dead. These certainly did not require sacrifices, but then they dealt with matters of the dead and not the living.

She sighed as Mariku stood up, closing the notebook he was working on.

"Anzu, let us look at this again tomorrow with fresh eyes," he said to her, "Do you know if the Pharaoh is coming tonight?"

Anzu shook her head before replying, "No, his companions need rest just as much as we do."

He turned to look at her as he was leaving, "Anzu, do not lose hope. There may be a way, but I'm not sure what it will be."

All she could do was nod, but she wasn't looking at him anymore. Her eyes had fallen on the Millennium Tome. If she could yell at it, she would, but it wouldn't have made a difference. It was what it was. Just, why did Mikala think it would have been useful to her. She suppose she was putting too much stock in what the woman had said, but she seemed so sure of it belonging to Anzu now. She had to think, but she was still feeling the languor from her day earlier. Pushing the notes off her bed into a pile on the floor, she curled up under her sheets and fell to sleep.

She was lost in a dream where she was walking along a cobblestone path. Anzu thought she had been here before. It seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember if she had dreamed this before or not. Maybe she had visited it one of their travels, but she should have recalled it. It was a strange landscape, hazy and a touch incomplete. She wandered along, gas lamps lighting themselves as she made her way.

Up ahead, there were three paths splitting from her main one. The first two she thought looked pleasant enough but the third one frightened her. It was dark and the buildings were crumbling. On the path were two people holding on to one another, she couldn't hear what they were saying. However, she could see shadowy figures pulling themselves along the path toward them. Above them, the sky was red from the rising sun. She ran toward them.

Anzu wasn't sure what she could do to save them, but she had to try. She came up short when she saw the state of the path. It was covered with jagged rocks, glass, and nails. She paced a bit at the path and looked up again. It was Atemu holding a woman in his arms. She was wearing a Victorian era violet gown, and he was rocking her back and forth. She seemed similar to someone, but Anzu didn't know who. All she could see of was their back. Regardless, she couldn't allow herself to feel jealous over this scene, the creatures were approaching them in the middle of the road.

She launched herself forward, and pain shot its way up through her feet. They had been instantly pierced by the shrapnel littered across it. Bitting her lip, she forced herself up and ran toward them. Strangely, the other woman was fading away and Atemu looked up at her. His eyes wide with shock and fear. He was being pulled away by some force, and he fell down on the ground, digging his hands into the dangerous terrain. Instantly, they were covered with blood.

Beings were scrambling on to the roadway after her, and Anzu choked back a scream that threatened to rip out of her throat. She kept running to him and could see his hand reaching for her. She dove toward him, headless of the danger below her. Things had latched themselves to her legs, and Anzu knew she just had to get to him. He was starting to fade.

If she could just reach him, he wouldn't disappear to whatever was trying to take him away and they could fight off these things together. Her body landed hard on the road and jagged spikes ripped their way through it. Tips of their fingers were barely a space apart and she could hear him yelling her name. Her blue eyes bore into his violet ones, willing him that there be a way. Light from the impending rise of the sun blinded her completely as it shot through his body.

Anzu sat up quickly in bed, she was trying to scream for Atemu but her voice was caught in her throat. Normalcy surrounded her. A ticking from the clock was the only noise in the room. She fell back into her pillows. She wondered if Atemu had dreams like these, it had been a nightmare. It had frightened her to her core, and she knew she had to act. She flipped over the bed, picking up scattered notebooks and sat down, earmarking certain pages as she found them and clarifying words as she needed.

Today was one of those rare days Anzu would be by herself. At breakfast, plans were being made. Rishid has business in Cairo for a client he did occasional consulting with. Ishizu had a normally busy date at both the Museum and government offices. Mariku had classes that would take him into the late afternoon. She planned to act today before anyone came home.

She had known for sometime that anything she had to do to help Atemu would require her going to the Valley of the Kings and retracing her steps back to his tomb. She also knew she remembered that path like it was etched on her soul. It may have been in the past, but she had to believe that she would relocate it in this time. Sitting down at her desk, she began to write from her heart to her friends. She had real concern that she could get lost out there.

Dear Jonouchi,

I am about to take a journey that many would not understand, but I think it will help me find my future. Please, do not fear for me, but before I left I wanted to share with you something important that I have learned.  
I know the last couple of years were hard when you thought you'd never see Mai again. I also remember the day you said you had let her go, but I knew your eyes were hooded. When she came back to you after all those years, I knew it had to be meant to be. Please, never let go of her again.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Mai,

It must've been the hardest moment of your life to walk away from your friends, because you felt you had betrayed them all. We wanted to be there to lift you up, to let you know we understood. You were deeply hurt inside. But, you were resolute in that you had to find your true self again.  
I understand what you meant.  
In the years that I have spent away from everyone in America, I failed and shamed myself. I refused to share my hurt because I did not want to burden others or be seen less in their eyes.  
I feel like when you went to stand in front of Jonouchi again, that you must have been very scared. I have some of the same feeling myself for another. But, I know Jonouchi is a good man and he will cherish you all your days together. Be blessed.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Honda,

When you told me that autumn day before our graduation in spring that you were going to ask Shizuka to marry you, I felt such joy for you both. I must also admit, I felt jealousy but I swallowed it down because I didn't want to cause anyone worry. I had caused enough after we came back from Egypt, I supposed.  
I wonder idly if I will be there to see all the babies you two are destined to have. I have a journey ahead of me that will take me into the unknown. I have no answers today except to remind you to cherish Shizuka with all your heart.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Shizuka,

My sister of my heart. I wish I knew your secrets of happiness and joy. I think I might now, but I won't know until later. I know there is very little that will stand in the way of your family and future. Be kind to Honda, my friend, you know he is just as stubborn as Jonouchi. You two will make it, I have no doubts.  
You will no doubt know that Honda has a letter like this from me, too. Do not fear for me. I have to face my destiny. Sometimes, I cannot help the feeling that everything has been led up to this moment for a purpose. In the future, when I have time to explain it all, I think you will be amazed.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Kaiba,

I know you are very busy, so I will keep this brief. You are worth far more than you think. I know that you will scoff at me, but I can see how your eyes crack at the bonds of friendship. Your heart is a lot kinder than anyone knows, and your sorrows are as great. Please, do not let your fears prevent you the opportunity to know the warmth and love of a companion.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Mokuba,

You are such a brave young man and I know that there are many wonderful things waiting for you out there. I have no worries for your future, but I can offer a few words of the wisdom that I have learned. Never judge faces by what you see with your eyes, judge them with your heart. You are the heart of your brother, teach him that it is all right to love others. I have never told him or anyone of the fears you have shared with me over the years via emails.  
I wish I could be your voice of solace in the future, but I am about to take a journey that may keep me away from the computer and emails for a long time. Live and be strong not for anyone else, but for yourself.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Bakura,

I know that you blame yourself for the events that led to our trip to Egypt years ago. You have always kept yourself to the fringe of our circle since then. Much like myself, we have both suffered shames we don't want to share. Bakura, you have to reach out. What happened was not your fault and never will be. Please, I beg you, find someone that you can share your burdens with.  
Perhaps, I might have had less troubles had I reached out instead of staying shamed. I will not go into the sadnesses that I have experienced when I arrived in New York, but please know that it was not a good experience, made even worse by not having the courage to tell my friends. One friend did push through, whether we were ready for it or not. So, my journey will end... begin... I am not sure, but Egypt is where my life will change. Where will yours?  
Stay safe and please, do not hide behind your walls any longer.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Rebecca,

I know for the longest time, you thought I did not like you. I am sorry for that. My heart was confused until after I had time to settle from the Pharaoh's leaving. I am glad, so glad, that you and Yugi are together. I hope I will be able to make it to your wedding.  
Yugi is very tender and sweet, with a core as strong a steel. Please take care of him. He is my oldest friend and I know loves you with all his heart. He needs someone that can challenge him, but also be protected by him. Keep him sharp, I know he'll be the champion for many years to come. Something in my heart tells me this.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Yugi,

What do I say? What can I say? You have known me since childhood. You knew the things that I could not admit. You knew the sadness I had inside after that final duel you had with Atemu. I've enclosed the entire tale of what has happened between he and I. I can trust you with this. I owe it to you as well. If things had turned out differently, maybe you and I would've been more than friends, but that was not our fate.  
Cherish Rebecca, my friend, she is truly your other half. I know this with my heart. We grew and changed from our experiences. What was true in childhood is no longer true in our adulthood. I know you, of all people, will understand why I go to do what I have to do.

Love,  
Anzu

PS. Did you ever get the Blue Eyes Plushie for me? Curious...

Dear Mariku,

I know you are scared of what we have in our hands. I know you will be scared that I have left. Please do not fear for me. You have taught me well, and I am sure that I can move forward with this. However, the time has come for me to continue on my own. Your support in face of your sister's disapproval has not gone noticed. Thank you for helping me, thank you again and again.  
I do have one word of advice for you, don't be so desperate to experience all life has that you forget to see that holding on to what is right is just as good, even if it becomes ordinary after time. It is those ordinary moments you will remember best.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Rishid,

Thank you for your kind words the other day. That I impress you so much makes me happy. You, yourself, are an amazing man and I just know the right person for you is out there somewhere. When you find her, I hope I am there to see it.  
I have a journey ahead of me, and maybe it is somewhat misguided, maybe even insane, but I have to do this. Please understand. You'll have to hold back Mariku from running out the door. He'll know where I have gone.  
Thank you for being there for me and seeing the real me. Just thank you.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Dear Ishizu,

This morning at breakfast, I noticed your eyes glancing at me differently. I think you already know that these letters for you, Mariku, and Rishid will be on the table when you get home. You may not be able to see into the future anymore, but you are still and will always remain highly perceptible.  
I will not hide where I am going from you. I head to the Valley of the Kings to return to Atemu's tomb. I will be using the Millennium Tome. I think I have found a way, but I will not know until I try. I have to try.  
Our friends in Japan will be calling you within twenty-four hours and be here in less than forty-eight. Please wait for them. Without you, they may panic for you know the way. I shouldn't expect this of you, but I beseech you to please do this. Wait for them. Make Mariku and Rishid wait.

Your friend,  
Anzu

Carefully putting each letter into envelope and addressing them, she laid the only ones without an address on the table in the dining room. It had served as a constant congregation point for them all. A note on a folded triangle card advised not to open the letters until everyone was home.

She wondered if she was foolish for what she was about to do. Here she was, a young woman about to take a train to Luxor to wander into the desert, slip pass the security on the pyramids, and relocate Atemu's tomb. It seemed almost hysterical, maybe a plot or a story, certainly not for real life. However, the last time she was in Egypt had seemed the same way.

Anzu packed a couple changes of clothing, though most of it was the same. She had taken to wearing light linen shifts and veils when in the city. The less she looked like a tourist, the less she was manhandled and panhandled. She also dressed for travel in the same way. In her backpack went the Millennium Tome and notebooks while clothing and not nearly as important items to her went into the long satchel she would bring with her. A few cherished items went into the pack as well. Knick-knacks from the past that she had always carried with her like a ticket stub for a dance game from years ago.

A honk interrupted her and she quickly finished getting everything she needed. She was going to have to mail off most of her letters at the post, but her driver was arranged for everything she needed this morning. It was unfortunate in a way that she was going to overnight these letters to Japan, but it was the only way she knew to absolutely guarantee everyone would get them. She hated to worry her friends, which she knew this was going to do, but she also didn't know if she was going to be okay out there until she got to Atemu's tomb.

She took one last long look at the apartment, her home for about a month, but she seemed more sad to be leaving here than she did of her New York apartment. Here, safety and shelter had surrounded her. Only the fears in her own mind had caused her trouble in this place. Before leaving, she put an envelope with Egyptian pounds in it on Ishizu's desk. It was the compensation that they would never discuss about her living there. Anzu closed the door and locked it, slipping the key under it. She couldn't look back as she walked to the cab, she was scared she would stop walking if she did.

About eight hours after Anzu was safely enclosed on the train south and nearing to Luxor, a huge argument had broken out in the Ishutarus home.


	25. Journeyed

"What do you mean we can't go after her?!" Mariku snarled at his sister. He could not believe this, Anzu had just left that morning, they had no information on where she went but he could guess, and she was a non-Egyptian woman traveling alone.

Her fingers played with the letter she had been left and sighed, "Because she asked us to wait. We will be getting a call, most likely from Japan, tonight in the early morning hours. We will then have to wait for them to arrive."

Rishid had remained silent during Mariku's argument with his elder sister. Finally, he chose to speak, "Marik, anything you try to do would be in vane. Anzu has a protector no one else has, the Pharaoh. She will be safe. He will protect her."

Mariku shouted back, "How can you be so sure?"

"It is a feeling that I have," Rishid replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Meanwhile, the train Anzu was riding had broken down in Qina. She was about fifty kilometers away from the Valley of the Kings. There was an expected three hours of daylight remaining before the darkness of night would descend quickly upon the desert. She wasn't sure offhand what she was going to do once she had reached Luxor to get to the tombs, being stuck here didn't seem too far away to her. While she had some privacy on the train, she had worn a hijab, but now changed into a burka to conceal herself head to toe. She was nervous that she might be pestered. It would be hard enough to conceal her blue eyes that marked her foreign status, but there wasn't much she could do about that. Anzu was going to need to find a way to get to the valley, and it would be easier on her skin and help garner respect if she kept herself appearing modest.

She exited her compartment and with her bag, made her way out of the train. Blustering activity was all around her as people were forced to exit the train early as well. It created a surge that resulted in a state of barely controlled chaos as baggage handlers and racing pickpockets swam through the confused tourists and seasoned Egyptians. Anzu was appreciative of the locks she had on her backpack and that it also strapped across her midsection. Most thieves wouldn't even bother with her pack, it'd be too much work when compared to the blue-jean pockets bulging with wallets of American dollars.

Still, it was disappointing that she had to negotiate with four drivers before settling on the fifth who was willing to drive her to the bank and assist her with finding additional transportation to Luxor. She wanted to be in that city before nightfall, but that was a remote possibility now. However, her driver seemed easygoing enough and was surprised by her blend of Egyptian Arabic with Ancient Egyptian before revealing he spoke some English. It was obvious to him that she was a foreigner, but she apparently had earned some respect in his eyes for him to help her.

When they stopped in front of bank and she went in, she wasn't expecting him to still be there when she returned. They had negotiated a price for her going to the bank and then would negotiate again for the ride to her major transportation options. She had a feeling all the buses were going to be full of displaced tourists from the train. Luck was not on her side this late afternoon it seemed to Anzu, but she felt better when he frantically waved at her as she exited. He couldn't see her smile, but she waved back to him just as vigorously as she ran back to the black and white cab.

"Where to Miss?" He asked her in a mix of English and Arabic, his voice gravely with age and tobacco.

Anzu frowned, she wasn't sure how she could get to Luxor of the Valley from here. "I have to get to Luxor tonight. Do you know if the buses are all full going there?"

He bobbed his head up and down. "Yes, yes, indeed they are. I heard on the radio the tracks are broken. There is no further trains except to Qina. Many trains are forced to stop here. Trains south are stuck in Luxor."

She slammed her fist into the door's armrest on her right, cursing in Japanese. He looked shocked by her sudden outburst, and she was sure he didn't understand it but the inflection was enough.

"My apologies. I'm out of ideas and do not know what to do here." She was probably telling him too much. She knew such a statement could make her right for the picking if she wasn't careful.

"Ah! If you are unafraid of camels, my brother is selling them. He is a breeder not far, not far from here at all." His dark eyes were bright with the idea. Anzu thought it was kind of ironic, but accepted it as fate.

"I have ridden horses a couple of times. Is it similar?"

Bobbing of his head was her initial response. "Could be similar? If you do not like his camels, I will ask my daughter to take you in and in the morning, it will be easier for you to get to Luxor." He saw her raise her eyebrow at his suggestion of his sister. "She is single, safe, safe for you. Same like you, independent woman."

"Oh... Okay," Anzu agreed to his course of action. She felt strange trusting her fate to this stranger. She had heard about women disappearing in these deserts and never being found again. She didn't want to be one.

The rest of the drive to the farm was quite, uneventful. She had become accustomed to the driving habits of the region, so she was no longer gripping her seat in fear. They crossed over the Nile, and it was not lost on Anzu that everything she had needed over the Nile had been on the West Bank. He had informed her that their destination was in Nag' Badran. It was a small town of rural farmers not far from the city center of Qina. A tributary canal from the Nile brought water to the region, allowing more fertile land to be available for use. Green and sand surrounded them in this place. Anzu felt comfort here, but was still nervous. Even five kilometers outside of a major city can be dangerous, and she was a lone woman trusting her taxi driver.

Soon, they turned along a winding sand road that was surrounded by growing stalks of corn on one side and wheat on the other. A painted sky of blue was being slowly taken over by golds and reds in the west. Anzu nibbled on her lip in worry. She was crazy to have allowed this man to take her so far out here. Within minutes they were in front of a tan brick series of buildings, men and women of various ages were coming out to see them.

Running to the side of the car, the driver opened the door for her. "Thank you, Abdullah," she said to him and left a small envelope on the seat with her fare. She grabbed her backpack and exited. He pointed toward his family and she followed him.

"My family, this is Anzu, a most peculiar foreigner," he announced to them, she blushed from slight embarrassment.

"My brother, Yusuf." A man similar in appearance to Abdullah was pointed out, but he wore a heavy leather vest over his shirt. He smiled and told her hello and that it was a pleasure for her to come.

"My brother's wife, Fatima." This was a woman wearing the same encompassing burka that Anzu was wearing. Acknowledgment was a quiet nod.

"Their many strong sons – Isa, Ibrahim, Usamah, Zakir." He pointed out several late teens and young men dressed similarly as their father. "And their beautiful daughters – Yasmeen and Haala." Two young girls were pointed out who were dressed like their mother, they stood behind their elder.

A tall young woman walked from behind a barn to join them. Breezes from the desert lifted her dark blue hijab and revealed she was wearing a tan tunic and pair of loose trousers. She walked right up to Anzu and offered her hand forward.

In perfect English, the newcomer said to Anzu, "I am Ayra, daughter of Abdullah." They shook hands.

"Yes, the beautiful apple of my and her mother's eye. Rest the soul of my dear wife who in childbirth did die." Abdullah announced, his words flowery of Ayra before landing flat. "She is strong-willed and independent though, unlike the gracefulness of her dear mother."

"Hmph," Ayra snorted but moved aside so Anzu could be brought to Yusuf.

"My honorable brother tells me that you are interested in a camel for transportation to Luxor?" Yusuf asked, going straight into the heart of her presence on their farm. His family had retreated from the scene, going back to tend their duties.

"Maybe... I... I have never ridden one before," she admitted.

He started chatting off in too rapid to follow Arabic to Abdullah. Anzu could only blink at their conversation. She saw the wild gesturing toward her and just sighed. She had to get to Luxor tonight, everything in her was screaming in urgency. It had seemed over the course of the hours and moments since she left Cairo it was becoming stronger. Her frustration was hidden by the veil over her face from the bulky outer garment she was wearing and tears threatened her eyes.

"Uncle!" Ayra cried out halting the conversation."She will be fine and you can sell her the docile, but nimble one. She will need gear as well to ride her, so sell her the best. You need the money, so stop arguing with Father."

Anzu wondered what straits they could be in for Ayra to be able to say such things to her father and uncle, especially in front of her. She supposed, like the rest of the world, they were struggling to make it as anyone else. Yusuf nodded, his eyes flashing annoyance at Ayra, and walked to the back of the house, toward a cluster of stables. Abdullah followed his brother. There was maybe another hour or so of daylight left. Golden-orange hues tinged everything around her.

Ayra approached her, "Give him a good price. Please haggle a little or he'll be offended. I will show you the basics. Are you going to travel tonight?"

She nodded back to the other woman. "I have to get to Luxor tonight. I need to get to the Valley of the Kings as soon as possible."

"Why do you have to go there so urgently? It is only a place of the dead." Ayra had stepped back from Anzu to look her over, her black eyes peeking out from her hijab.

Anzu placed her hand over her heart, she could feel her cartouche pressing against her skin underneath the layers of linen. "I have a destiny."

A shrug was her reply. "If you must travel at night, it is better. Men travel these roads and if you are found out to be a lone woman on camelback, I can promise you that you will quickly find yourself dead... if you are lucky."

A gasp escaped Anzu's lips as Ayra continued. "I have done this before. Father says I am insane. However, do you have provisions? Are you prepared for your journey, no matter how short it is?"

"No, not completely." Anzu shook her head.

"I can get you water and bread to carry with you. I have a map, flashlight, and compass as well. I will write in English the locations because everything is in Arabic on it."

"Why are you helping me? I'm a stranger." Anzu was curious about this strong-willed woman amid a seemingly traditional Arabic family. Her place was more for tending the home than tending the farm like a hired hand.

Ayra shrugged again. "Why not? I hate it when women are treated like we are nothing but dainty flowers. We are not. I am curious about why the Valley of the Kings. Why are you desperate to go there?"

"I am to meet someone there..." Anzu eye's gave away more than what she said.

She could see Ayra's grin by the slight crinkling around her eyes. "Ah! A forbidden romance?"

"You could say that... our worlds are very, very far apart and here we can meet with one another." Her reply was stammered, unexpected due to the questioning. Ayra was a very straight-forward person.

"Have you both revealed impassioned promises yet?" Ayra leaned forward. Her voice softer in tone and almost whispered.

"N-n-no, nothing like that... I think... I..."

Waving her hand nonchalantly. Ayra replied, "Never mind me, I love romantic stories. I read a lot of Western romances. I am on the Internet at the cafe in the city. The one I love, he is very far away from me, too."

"Oh..." Anzu suddenly felt a kinship to the other woman. She certainly could understand the trials and tribulations of a romance such as that brought a person.

"Uncle is coming back. Remember, haggle at least a little with him. He is already angry at me for revealing his misfortunes." She nudged Anzu and then stepped away from her to go wander around the house.

Anzu didn't have the first clue on how to haggle for a camel. Let alone how much was one even worth! She did have almost eleven-thousand Egyptian Pounds on her. An insane amount to be sure and if anyone knew, she could probably be killed for it. At the bank, she had slipped four-thousand in her purse and kept the rest strapped to her body. A couple of hundred pounds were easily accessible in the purse, while the rest was in a hidden pocket.

Yusuf showed her the camel, pointed out her fine legs and stout body. He paraded her around to show her how quickly the mare moved. He was ambitious in his description of her, touting her virtues without seeming end.

Finally, he gave Anzu his asking price, "Four-thousand gineih. Very, very good price for her."

Anzu pretended to think it over and shook her head, inside she was silently elated that she wouldn't have to struggle with the money. "No, no, she seems almost too dainty for what I need. Three-thousand gineih."

"What! I could get four-thousand for the meat on her alone. No, no, three-thousand seven hundred for her," he responded, his speech rapid.

She knew that wasn't entirely true. Market conditions had been difficult for camel meat, even though it was the preferred meat for those who ate it. She remembered a new story on such in Cairo that Rishid had translated for her. "Ha! No, you couldn't. I will give you three-thousand two-hundred for her."

"See her lovely saddle?" He pointed to the quilt and saddle set on her. It was lovely with fringe and brightly colored patterns that covered her entire hump area. A simple leather bridle was wrapped around her snout. "My beautiful and talented wife and daughters made the blankets. My sons the saddle and bridle. I will include that, yes, for three-thousand five-hundred. No less."

Anzu nodded her head, her smile hidden behind her burka. "Fine. I will accept the price if it includes the saddle and bridle set with the blankets."

With the deal reached, Anzu reached into her bag and pulled out the amount. She had each group of thousand wrapped in a bundle. They counted the money and it was confirmed by Abdullah who had stood to oversee the pricing negotiation. By now, the sun was very close to the horizon. Anzu was getting nervous about what she was going to do next. Ayra returned with a heavy bundle and rejoined them. She shooed her father and uncle away and claimed it was now time for women's business.

"My family will be able to eat well for some time now, thanks to you." She was patting the mare's neck. "Ready to give her a try? She is very easy to command."

Anzu nodded and Ayra showed her how to mount the camel. It was easier than she expected but staying saddle somewhat difficult.

"Sit, sit... do not try to force it. Keep her balance here." Ayra pointed to her stomach. "There, now take the bridle and click your tongue like this." She showed her how to do the prescribed click. "She will start walking forward. Pull the rein back when you want her to slow down, harder to make her stop. Turn her head to get her to go in that direction."

Anzu did a few circles and laps with the camel under Ayra's tutelage. She had to admit it was becoming fun for her, and the experience was slightly heady. She felt like she was some adventurer now.

"Good, come down now." Anzu dismounted the mare and they led her over to one of the wooden fences.

"Do not think me inhospitable," Ayra said to her after a few moments, "But I do not want to invite you to our table. My male cousins are unwed, and ..." Her voice trailed off, Anzu did not need her to fill in the blank and nodded her head that she understood. "Good, good... You need to put on a headdress like a man. It will help keep others from recognizing you as a woman on the road. I will help you with this away from the home. Come, the sun is sinking. Night will be here soon."

They traveled through the stalks of wheat along a small irrigation row. In the middle of it, Ayra advised Anzu to go ahead and wear all her layers. It would become very cold once the sun completely set. They adjusted her burka so that it wasn't obviously feminine from a distance, her backpack was also concealed under this, and Ayra tightly wrapped a white scarf around Anzu's head and draped it over her face. Another scarf went over this.

"Inside, I have water, dried fruit, and bread. There is also some camel meat. The important thing is the water, it is heavy but the camel will carry you through." She showed her the contents of the bags she had brought. This was thrown over the saddle and secured by Ayra. Anzu could only go along with the other woman's directions, she was now in a territory she did not fully understand.

"Also in this pocket is a map, compass, and light. Batteries are new." She pulled out the map and English markings were on it and lines drawn for the path she should try to take. "Stay close to the road but away from the farms. Follow the green south. On your right, the Valley of Kings is here. You will be close to Luxor then and your beloved. Do not go into the Valley at night. The terrain can be dangerous. At a trot, she can bring you to Luxor in about two hours, no more. Do not attempt to sleep in the desert at night. Ride into town and try to find shelter."

Anzu was breathless from the kindness and information. "Thank you, Ayra. Your help is immeasurable."

Her hidden smile was Anzu's first reply before she spoke, "Someday, I will be freer to travel, like you. I should hope should I be in a strange land that a stranger will help me kindly as well."

Reaching into her pack, she pulled out remainder of her money in her pack from the transaction earlier. She kept it tightly bundled and handed it to Ayra. "Thank you again."

Anzu mounted the camel and gave Ayra a wave before she started to lead the mare through the fields toward the old camel road. Within minutes of her departure, Ayra was racing along side her and the camel.

Breathless, she cried out to Anzu, "Did you make a mistake? This is too much!"

"I made no mistakes, my friend." Anzu told Ayra and gave her a thumbs-up sign. Ayra returned it while waving at her. She called out good-byes and blessings on her journey .

Smiling, Anzu began to settle into pace with her new companion. Purple sky was overhead and the long shadows of afternoon were blending in the twilight. It was beautiful in the monotonic simplicity of color that land and sky reflected upon each other at the hour. She found the trail described to her easily enough in the fading light. Populations were sparse in this area and she passed many farms as night came on. She could feel the temperature dropping around her, and her stomach grumbled hungrily for food.

Following the map, she led her camel along a route toward one of the river canals. She figured her animal friend was probably thirsty as well. They could rest a bit, it didn't seem to matter to Anzu about the fading light. Dark was dark. It wasn't going to change no matter how much closer she got to Luxor.

They stopped at the waterway and in the gloomy dusk, Anzu dismounted. She kept tight rein to her steed and looped the bridle through her arm. Both bowed to the water, the camel taking huge gulps of the blue water. Anzu pulled back her scarf to reveal her face and washed herself best she could of the dust from earlier that day. Feeling cleaner and more refreshed, she remounted the camel.

"I shall call you Rakuda. It's not very creative, I know, but I need a name for you I suppose." Anzu said to her camel as she patted her neck.

It had become extremely dark very quickly and starlight was her only guide. Pulling out the flashlight, she made her way back west to the roadway, letting Rakuda lead the way through the terrain. She pulled her clothing tighter around her and wondered how she was going to make it the next two hours. She nibbled nervously on a piece of hard bread as she mulled over the journey ahead of her.


	26. Rescued

Temperatures were steadily dropping in the desert landscape. Night was inky and only the faint illumination of the stars above offered any sort of light to guide the wayfarer. Moonrise would not be for another hour or so in this part of the world. Snakes slithered against the dunes, and their rattles warned the domesticated steeds to change their path. Winking lights from settlements by the Nile to the east offered small consolation of hope of warmth and shelter for the night. Only the light shuffling of a pack and blankets was conversation in this world of loneliness and cold.

Anzu pulled her robes tighter around her. They offered some insulation, but it was a chill that was seeping into her bones and soul. She had been traveling for over two hours now. It was just after ten at night. As long as she stayed on track, she would be in Luxor in a few more hours, even though she had been slow going. Safety and warmth would be there for her, and then she could continue her journey into the Valley of the Kings. Lost in her thoughts, she did not hear other travelers swiftly coming up from behind her.

She almost shrieked when they appeared, and she found herself surrounded on all sides. They were all men with thick wiry beards and the traditional wraps around their heads. There were four of them that she could see. Anzu clicked her tongue lightly to encourage Rakuda to trot faster. She didn't want to be rude, but she had a strong feeling from the way they were looking at her that they did not come up to her to chat. Other travelers, the few she had seen this night, had simply kept their heads low and passed her. Her thoughts was further confirmed when she saw seeing wickedly gleaming knives strapped to their saddles, an obvious display of ill intent.

Voices carried over to her in Arabic. What she could make out was they were trying to convince her to stop. She kept going. The one on her right tried to reach out toward her, and she begged Rakuda to go faster. In front of her, the blocking companion tried to cause them to slow down. A man reached out and grabbed the trailing end of her scarf and pulled. Her overscarf fell off into the sands and was trampled beneath camels and horses, but this caused the face wrap of her headdress to come loose and reveal the soft, beardless feminine contours of her face. Excited yells went up around her. What they were saying could not possibly be good for her as she made out a few of the words.

She tried to find an exit out of the circle they had created around her. Rakuda was trotting bravely and not letting the other camels and horses stop her. However, Anzu was feeling the petrification of spirit that only comes from knowing that this could be the day she died. Suddenly, to her right, one of the rider's camel bleated out in pain and fell back, something must have caught its toe. Blessedly, this created an opening on her right into the deserts. Anzu took the chance. Rakuda scrambled over the suddenly rocky terrain, and the men followed them shouting and cajoling at them.

"Rakuda, please, we have to find sand... you'll be faster there..." Anzu looked up at the sky of twinkling stars and prayed for hope and speed, she prayed to Atemu. "Atemu, I am sorry if we end here because of my foolishness. I should have waited to speak with you, but... I..."

Her last words were lost in a scream as she went tumbling from Rakuda's saddle. Her camel had tripped on the terrain in the dark, forced to go faster than she would have normally traversed in this area by Anzu's fear. Anzu could sense the men coming up quickly behind her, the footfalls of their horses and camels echoed in her ears. Rakuda was turning around to head back toward her, but she feared that by the time she came back there would not be enough time to escape. Why did she have to be so foolish, she should have just waited until morning like a sensible person.

Swallowing the lump of fear in her throat, Anzu turned around and stood waiting for her pursuers. There was no point in trying to run, she would have to make a stand on her own feet here. She had no weapons. Time was slowing down around her. Each movement was accented as she watched them dismount their beasts, their robes billowing around them like wings. Dark figures back-lit by a dark sky, the starlight granting her just enough of a glimpse into the soulless eyes that feasted on her standing there amid the dunes and rock. She felt very small under their hungry gaze.

They stood there talking to themselves in a low voice for a few moments, and she had dropped her center of gravity in anticipation of an attack. She was not going to go down without a fight, this much she was determined about. They would have to kill her before they could worse to her. Anzu would not let them capture her in the way they were planning. A desert breeze swept across the group, causing their robes to be pulled. Sand tried to find its way into her eyes, and they all did likewise to cover their faces from the grit. Then, the wind subsided and a stillness came over the place of her final stand.

She watched as one of them, he was slight of build compared to his companions, went to his camel and pulled a curved knife from the side of the saddle. There was barely any reflection on the metal as his shadows covered the beast. He was being urged forward by his fellows. Her mind was racing in overtime, this must be his first capture or kill. It didn't really matter which, but he was apparently new at this. It could give her a desperately needed advantage for the first fight.

Without any apparent skill, he rushed at her with the knife held over his head with a yell. Anzu dropped to the ground in a half-split and kicked out with her leg. She felt her foot connect with his ribs and heard something crack. It was a satisfying sound. He cried out in pain as his fellows began to laugh at him. She heard something drop near her, it was his knife. Anzu rolled over to it and felt her hand touch the handle. She leaped up, holding the man's blade in her hand.

Now what was she going to do? His group were chatting at him angrily, and he was cuffed upside the head by another man when he returned for advice. She presumed this was her attacker's elder. Anzu knew she wasn't going to get far in this battle unless the leader was knocked out, but so far, she could not tell who was in charge. Her knife felt foreign in her hand as she gripped it with all her strength. The thought of that she was going to have to kill someone came up in her mind, its implications scared her.

He came back at her, weaponless but his malice over her shaming him could be felt across the small space. She dodged across the sand and slashed at him, cutting his robes. He kept coming and grappled her to the ground. Her small turban was pulled from her head as they rolled around in the sand. Grabbing her, he shoved her into the hard ground. She fell against her backpack and could feel the Millennium Tome digging into her back. Anzu pushed upward with the knife and felt hot blood splash on her hands as he screamed in pain. In the corners of her eyes, she could see the others coming toward them. She coiled her legs underneath her and kicked up, pushing him off of her. He fell to his side screaming in pain and curled into a fetal position as she stood up.

Anzu burst into tears at the sight of the dark blood on her hands and knife when she looked down, and they fell from her cheeks and chin in a torrent to splash on her hands. Unbidden, the words of one of the spells in the tome came to her lips. It was a summoning spell of protection. Her voice took on an echoing quality in the small area they were in and reverberated through the stones at her feet. Ancient Egyptian heka, long disused in modern times, filled the air, the atmosphere thick like it was just before a lightning strike. She saw the men stand back, making signs to their god. She could hear the sound of hooves clattering in the night air behind her as she continued chanting the spell. Her tears were like diamonds on her hand, sparkling against the blackish looking blood in the dark. In her backpack under her burka, heat from the Millennium Tome burned into her back.

She felt something coming into form behind her, but she was too scared to turn around and see what was happening. Her focus was still on the men standing in front of her and the man on the ground rolling in pain from the stab wound she had given him. It was then she felt a pull on her soul as something glowing passed through her body and then was released as it stopped in front of her. Words of ghosts in Arabic were coming from the the men as they started rapidly retreating to their mounts, their companion forgotten in their fear. Their prey was no longer prey as her protector came into being in front of them.

Atemu was like a blazing sun in the middle of the darkness. His snow-white Arabian a moon beneath his body. She watched him pull a long, gleaming scimitar from his side as he swing it out in front of him. His horse was pawing at the ground, eager to chase the men in front it. This was no mere riding horse, but a war-bred steed of a Pharaoh. His headdress and jewelery shone with their own inner light that illuminated a circle around them as his cloak billowed out behind him. Over the horizon behind them, the Chesire moon rose like a scimitar of the night.

Fear could be seen in the men's eyes as Atemu charged toward them, they ran and jumped on their own steeds. Their wounded companion forgotten in the sand as they raced away from the apparition of the ancient Pharaoh. Atemu circled back around to Anzu, she was wary as she stared at the bleeding man on the ground. Rakuda was nudging at her shoulder with her snout. She still held the bloody knife tightly in her hand.

"Anzu, get back on your camel," Atemu commanded of her.

She looked at the whimpering would-be attacker in the sand. "What of him?" she asked, her voice trembling as adrenalin left her system.

Atemu snorted in the back of his throat, and his eyes were chips of cold amethyst. "Let the desert decide what to do with him. He is no longer our concern."

Just as quickly as he spoke, the air was filled with the clattering of insect legs crawling rapidly over the stones. In front of her, the man was begging for forgiveness and help. Anzu was at a loss of what to do. She could only stand there as scorpions came pooling out of every rock and crevice around them, heading toward her and the man on the ground.

"Anzu! Get off the ground, now!" He was screaming at her as he rode his horse back toward her, his hand reaching out toward her. Rakuda trotted away from them, fear rolling in her wide eyes.

She backed up as the creatures littered the area around her, clacking their mandibles as they swarmed over the prone man on the ground. Her screams were frozen in her throat as she grappled for air, her camel gone. Atemu was reaching for her as the black creatures ran at her feet. She lifted her arms as he grabbed her and felt a prick in her foot that quickly disappeared.

Anzu was pulled onto his lap, his arm wrapped tightly around her as she rapidly heaved in his chest. At the same time of her being lifted from the ground, she had heard the most horrifying scream in her life come from the man she had stabbed. She looked up and saw the scorpions attacking the man on the sand and rock, blood pooled from his multiple wounds to stain the ground beneath him. They crawled into his mouth, nose and eyes in their quest for the tender meat of his innards.

"Don't look, Anzu, don't look," Atemu murmured into her hair as she buried her face into his shoulder.

Her grip around his neck was as tight as she could hold on to him. He rode away from the carnage they were leaving behind and toward Anzu's camel. He removed his hand from her long enough to reach out and grab the reins of Rakuda and led them over the stony and sandy terrain away from the massacre. Cries from Anzu's former attacker grew faint and then they could hear no more as they traveled deeper into the desert.

After about thirty minutes, when her sobs had subsided and they had ridden over a small mound of rock, she looked up from his shoulder at the sky. She wasn't ready to meet his eyes. Stars sparkled in the night sky, and she wasn't sure where she was at anymore. Anzu noticed that she still held the bloodied knife, and blood from it and her hands were on the Pharaoh's cloak. He must've felt the tension leaving her body as she relaxed and came to grips with what had happened. She was sure she would have nightmares about that man and the scorpions for the rest of her life.

Atemu pulled the horse and camel to a stop. She finally met his eyes, they were stormy in his anger with her. She looked down at his chest, the cartouche she had given him gleaming faintly in the limited light. Her own was warm against her chest, and her heartbeat was racing just beneath it.

"Why are you out here, Anzu?" He finally asked her. She could hear the strain in his voice.

Her lips felt dry, and she licked them. "I had to... I had to come find you."

She could feel his fist at the small of her back, the bunched leather of the reins pressing against her beneath the bottom of the pack under her robes. He responded with a deep sigh, and her eyes moved from his chest to his lips. They were in a tight line.

"You could have been killed if you had not called to me," he said. She watched the movement of his mouth. "That was the strongest pull I have ever felt from you."

Anzu's gasp came suddenly. She released her gaze from the play of his lips and tongue as he spoke and looked him in the eye. "It was the Millennium Tome. I started chanting one of the spells of summoning that I had learned."

Atemu pulled back slightly, anger replaced by surprise. "Really? Did you find a way?"

She nodded. "I think so, I'm not sure. I just knew I had to get to your tomb. I had planned to go there in the morning from Luxor but the train broke down."

"The roads are too dangerous for you to go back to your original route. You are not the only fool to try to traverse the desert this night. Thieves, like those I found you with, are everywhere," he told her, another sigh escaped his lips.

He turned her slightly so she could dismount from his horse. "Anzu, I can feel the power I have now rapidly disappearing. I will lead you to my tomb, maybe there will be an archaeological group doing research in the Valley, but you will have to ride your camel. If I lead you back to the villages, you will probably be attacked again."

She slid down his saddle and her feet landed on the earth hard. A small shot of pain raced its way up her leg, she bit her lip so he would not hear her cry out. Atemu could not see her face contort in the sudden pain. He handed the reins to Rakuda to her when she turned around. Anzu mounted her camel and adjusted herself on her saddle. Atemu and his horse began to fade in front of her, and she yelled at at him in panic.

"Do not worry," his voice was like a whisper, "I will be your light in the darkness."

In front of her, he had become a glowing mote of light that floated in the air.

"Follow me," the light bade of her and she clicked her tongue at Rakuda. They began to traverse through the stony hills where Atemu led them.

Meanwhile, lights were low in the Ishutarus' home. Mariku could not stop his ceaseless pacing, worry was etched in lines across his face. Rishid sat in a nearby chair and read from a book. Ishizu sat at the dining table, a telephone in front of her, with her hands clasped in prayer. They were all worried for Anzu and hoped she had made it to Luxor safely. Earlier that evening, news reports had come in that the train tracks between Qina and Luxor had been destroyed by terrorist groups, and travel had become extremely dangerous in the area. Bandits were out that night, and the common congregation spots for tourists were being shut down. Everyone was being advised to stay indoors and not to travel.

No one knew if Anzu was safe, kidnapped, or worse. Mariku was frustrated by his sister's insistence that they wait for a phone call. He didn't care what Anzu's letter had said to her, it was pass midnight and they hadn't heard a word from their friend. He felt like she would have called if she was somewhere safe for the night. She would not have worried them so terribly. It was bad enough that Anzu had just up and left, taking all their notes and the tome. In a way, he almost wished that he had not helped her. Then, maybe, just maybe, they would not be here waiting for word of her safety or from the people that were supposed to call.

"Damn it, I cannot stand this!" He finally cried out, grabbing his head.

Rishid closed his book with a snap and looked up at his younger adoptive brother. "We must. She will be protected if she is in danger. I have faith in this."

"Faith! I don't care about faith!" Mariku yelled back.

Ishizu stood up and placed a hand on Mariku's tense shoulders, willing him to relax. "The Pharaoh will not let her come to harm. We will find her as soon as we are free to do so," she told him.

Mariku collapsed in a nearby chair at the table. "Must our lives be spent in wait of the Pharaoh? We were bound and forced to wait his return. He came back, but now we wait on him to protect our friend?"

She shrugged. "That is the way of life, the ebbs and flow. Maybe this was all ordained by the Gods themselves? Who are we to complain of this? She made her choice to leave. I choose that this family will bide by her wishes. We wait."

He sighed and punched the table. "I want to go after her."

Behind her back, just in sight of Rishid but not Mariku's, Ishizu made a hand signal. Rishid stood up and went into the kitchen, returning with a tall glass of water. "Brother, drink this. Your stress with dehydrate you."

Ishizu's eyes were hooded and non-responsive as Mariku took the offered drink and drank the glass down in one gulp. Immediately, he felt his limbs become heavy and languor rapidly seeped through his body.

His tongue didn't want to respond to him properly as he asked, shock in his eyes, "What... done...?" Mariku fell out of his chair and landed at his siblings' feet.

Sighing, Ishizu helped Rishid pick up and carry Mariku to his room. They pulled him into his bed and tucked the sheets around him.

"He would have eventually gone after her," she told Rishid, her voice sad, "He may not forgive us but someday he will understand that we had to do what was best."


	27. Opened

Over the course of their travels deep into the desert, Atemu's guiding light had progressively become fainter and fainter. Anzu was worried that he would disappear before they made it to an encampment or his tomb. She felt incredibly tired, but she knew she could not sleep. There was just not enough time for it. Maybe, after they were somewhere safe, she could rest. Her eyes had adjusted to the sliver of moonlight and added starlight which created an indigo landscape around her.

Rakuda was annoyed with her, Anzu was sure. This camel that she rode had been raised on a quiet farm and must be unused to such terrain and conditions. She willing shared her water rations with her mount, hoping the gesture might endear the camel to her better. That was another worrying point, Anzu was not provisioned for days in the desert. She had just enough food and water for the evening. Ayra probably did not anticipate this when she stocked her.

It was very cold and at times she was wrapping her clothing tighter around her, and other times she would feel heated and pull back a layer. Shifting temperatures warred within her and Anzu couldn't help thinking they did not exaggerate the changeability of the weather out in the sands. Although, the desert in its silent and chilly splendor was beautiful.

"Anzu." Atemu's whispered voice brought her back from her voice. "I am growing weaker now."

She looked around, every dune looked as same as the next. Low rock formations offered little in landmarks. "What will I do when you disappear? Where will I go?"

He took on substance again, appearing before her again in full form. "You are very near to the tomb." He pointed to a rise not far from where she was, on the other side of the valley. "Just over that rise is the entrance to my tomb. We have come through the desert behind what you call the Valley of the Kings."

Atemu walked up to her, a shade amid the night. She gripped the pommel of Rakuda's saddle tightly. Fear and worry etched themselves on her blue eyes. He touched her hand, pulling it from the saddle and lacing his fingers through hers.

"I know you are scared, but you will always be safe with me. My... tomb... will be a place of shelter for you this night. In the morning, ride toward the sun to find the cities."

"Atemu-" He stopped her from speaking with a look, even in the gloom she could see the intensity in his eyes.

"I apologize for my anger with you earlier. I know that you are doing what you feel is best." He laughed slightly. "I don't know if I deserve so much of your attention, though I enjoy every moment of it. I fear at times I want to push you away, because I feel that I will only hurt you in the end. Our futures are so uncertain. I am but a shade in your world..."

She placed her hand over their clasped ones and shook her head. "How can you be a shade, Atemu, when you are the most real thing to me in this world?"

His soft smile was her response and he lightly chuckled. Then, he sobered as he spoke again. "I can feel my place in this world unraveling already. I must go. Anzu, I..."

Anzu pulled her eyes from their hands and stared into his eyes. It seemed that starlight was reflecting upon their violet surface back at her. A blush crept upon her cheeks as her lips parted. He turned away from her, looking at the ridge he had told her to travel pass.

"I have to go now," he finally said.

She nodded. Her heart was racing from anticipation of what he might have said to her.

"I'll see you soon, Atemu," she told him and tears fell from her eyes as she watched him fade from her sight once again.

Anzu kept her hands in the same place they were in when his spectral hand had held her for a long moment before clasping Rakuda's reins. She followed an invisible path along the rocks and entered the valley from its north-western side. This was a part that you didn't see in the photographs and brochures for tourists. Hidden tombs that were still being sought out were in these locations. Up ahead and to the east, recognizable pathways marked entrances to the various publicly known tombs. Anzu continued pass these. From the stories from Yugi's grandfather and Professor Hopkins, from Ishizu, Rishid, and Mariku, there were tombs with no official roads in the Valley of the Kings. These were the treasures that were not dared to be revealed. Atemu's tomb, known as the Nameless Pharaoh because his name had been chiseled off of every decoration that had his name, was in this special area of research.

It was becoming more difficult to navigate Rakuda and soon they came upon the area that Atemu had pointed out. It was a narrow passageway between the hills. Anzu's camel would not fit through here. She would have to continue on foot. She could not help the frown on her face at the thought of leaving Rakuda out here, but she had made it this far, she needed to continue.

Dismounting proved a slightly painful experience. Her foot felt slightly wooden and numb, but a tremor of pain shot up through her leg. Shaking her head to clear it, Anzu pulled off her burka. She was feeling slightly warm in this area and she needed to get to her pack. She pulled out her extra clothes and replaced them with canteens of water, the compass, flashlight, some matches, and the knife she had collected from earlier. She wrapped a simple scarf around her arms to stave off any chills, but remained wearing a simple linen gown. Anzu shared some of the water with Rakuda, who gulped it greedily from her cupped hand.

"My thirsty friend, I hope we meet again. You will find people and lead them back to me, won't you?" She spoke to the camel as if she understood her. They had, after all, shared many hours together this night.

Thinking about it after slaking the camel's thirst, Anzu pulled the strapped wallet from her body and put the money in the saddle bags.

"There, if you are found, they might think we are rich and come for me for reward." Anzu smiled, but it did not reach her eyes.

More to herself than to the beast, Anzu started talking, "I hope you understand, I have to continue on. It is scary to be doing this so alone. I don't know when I'll see Atemu again, but I hope it is soon. You see, I think I'm ready to really tell him how I feel. I have to know how he feels too. I mean, this is kind of crazy to go through all of this based on years of longing and a couple of kisses from his … ghost? I don't know... maybe I am crazy and they have me in some hospital right now. You and I, here, are just dreams?

"I doubt it, my foot is really bothering me, and we've been through too much. I hope no one keeps you to turn you into something you're not meant to be. You are a good camel, and a good steed. I can't think of anyone else who has done something like this. I'm sure they exist, but they must be rare. Right?"

"Do you think I should tell Atemu how I feel, Rakuda?" Anzu returned to her first thoughts again. Rakuda seemed to understand as she shook her head up and down. "I will then. I am scared, but I will. I have to, I have to but I will only do it when I can touch him again. I want to … I want to see his eyes when I say it. Then I will know if this is real."

She patted the camel's long neck. It was bittersweet this parting. Pulling her pack back on her shoulders, Anzu turned away from Rakuda and entered the narrow passageway through the hills. Her way was slow going and her shoes slipped more than once on the small rocks. She persevered and soon was overlooking another part of the valley, in front of her the path to Atemu's tomb.

Across the world, Anzu's letters were arriving. Yugi greeted the postman who handed him a package at the Kame Game shop. On the label was the most expensive postage he had ever seen, and the return address was in Egypt. Thanking the letter carrier, he tore it open and pulled out three notebooks and another envelope. As he read the letter, his eyes widened and he dropped the notebooks on the floor.

"Grandfather!" He cried out, his hands shaking, "Anzu's in Egypt!"

Within the course of an hour in the bright morning, phone calls had been exchanged with Rebecca, Yugi, Jonouchi, Mai, Bakura, Honda, and Shizuka. Otogi had come in to talk with Yugi about another topic during the rapid fire phone calls and offered any help he could bring. Everyone was on their way to the game shop so they could figure out what to do. Their best course of action was to fly to Cairo immediately. The small bit that he had read in the notebooks was enough to cause him great concern for his far away friend.

Meanwhile, in the glistening towers of Kaiba Corporation, one of Seto Kaiba's secretaries was racing into his office with the letters for him and Mokuba.

"Sir! Sir! We have just received high-priority letters from Egypt!" She raced into the office, her heels clacking across the marble floors into his office.

Kaiba and Mokuba had been in a heated discussion on the next steps for their game products, notably new systems of duel disks. Kaiba looked annoyed at the interruption. He wasn't expecting anything from Egypt and quite frankly, could live happily never thinking of Egypt again. Mokuba had gained height over the last four years, he was currently towering over Kaiba's desk with his hands splayed flat across it. Mokuba could only register shock at the mention of Egypt.

She pulled herself up short and quickly bowed before the two. "Sir, we have received high-priority letters for both honorable Mister Kaibas." She offered the letters to them.

"Me?" Mokuba said before snatching his and Kaiba's. He handed his brother his before tearing into his own.

Both letters were read quickly. A strange smirk lighted on Kaiba's face. She was right that he would scoff at her suggestions. It was annoying that she made such a high-priority of it. On the other hand, Mokuba was shaking as he read his over and over.

"Honorable Older Brother! We have to go to Egypt, right now!" He cried out.

Kaiba pushed back in his chair, staring at his younger sibling with surprise. "What do you mean we have to go to Egypt? It's just some silly letters from that friend of Yugi's."

"That friend? She's not just a friend of Yugi's but my friend, too!" Mokuba's fist slammed into Kaiba's desk with the force of his anger.

Standing up, Kaiba walked around the desk and approached Mokuba. Both men wore finely tailored suits, although Kaiba was prone to long-tailed exorbitant overcoats. Mokuba was only a couple of inches shorter than Kaiba.

"Mokuba, what is wrong with you? Why are you so upset?" Kaiba was concerned and curious at the same time. He hadn't communicated with any of Yugi's friends in a real way since they left Egypt years ago. He did not know that apparently Mokuba had been. "When did you start being friends with Anzu?"

"You don't understand. You shut everyone out but me, but I need someone to go to as well that is just different." Mokuba averted his indigo-blue eyes, he did want to hurt Kaiba's feelings but they did need more than each other to trust in life. "Anzu... Anzu has been there for me for years now. We have always emailed one another. Only in the last couple of months have I not heard from her. Her last email to me... she sounded so sad in it. Now, she's suddenly in Egypt and this letter... asking me to be strong."

He looked up at Kaiba, unshed tears glistened in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Honorable Older Brother, but if you do not want to come with me to Egypt, I will go on my own. However, remember, that you owe her a dept that you will carry into your grave if you do not try to discharge it."

Mokuba could see the slight hint of betrayal in Kaiba's eyes but then acceptance. "Fine. We will go to Egypt." He pushed a button on the speakerphone and a woman's voice responded. "Prepare the plane, Mokuba and I have emergency business in Cairo. We need to leave within the hour."

"Yes, sir! I will notify you when the plane is ready, sir!"

Kaiba turned away from Mokuba and looked out the window on the morning Tokyo skyline. "Happy, now?" He could see his younger brother nodding his head in the reflection on the glass.

Across the city at the game shop, everyone else had gathered. Yugi was calling the airport to find out the costs of the flights.

"What do you mean there are no flights to Egypt?!" He yelled into the phone. He was told something the others didn't hear. "I don't care if there was an attack, my friend is over there." Within minutes, he was slamming the phone done. Anger marked every line of his body.

"There was a terrorist attack between Luxor and Cairo. The Egyptian government is shutting down tourists coming into the country right now out of concern for people's safety."

A cacophony of discussion rose up between everyone in the room. Otogi stood on the far side of the room, away from Shizuka and Honda, but the same opinion was held by all. They needed to get to Egypt right away to support their friend.

Sugoroku rubbed his chin, quiet amid all the voices and debates on the fastest way to get to Egypt other than by plane. However, none of that mattered if they couldn't get pass the government restriction. At the same time, a nervous secretary was informing Kaiba of the same restriction.

"What do you mean we can't?" Now, Kaiba was merely in it for the desire to go and flaunt that he could regardless of a government decree. "No one tells me no."

Mokuba was pacing nervously, his long black hair being flung over his shoulder with each turn. "What do we do, Honorable Older Brother?" He was quieter now, nicer to Kaiba now that he was on board to take him to Egypt.

Kaiba looked down at his rolodex and started flipping through the cards while at the same time Sugoroku was shouting for silence. Both men in their respective areas said the same thing, "We need to call Ishizu Ishutaru."

Kaiba beat the Mutos to the call. Ishizu and Rishid woke up from where they had fallen asleep in their chairs. The hour was very late in Egypt.

"Hello, this is Ishizu," she said into the phone as she picked it up.

"Miss Ishutaru, there seems to be a problem with getting into your country on short notice today. My brother is concerned about Anzu. Have you seen her?" Kaiba's voice was smooth as honey and commanding as a whip.

"Yes, and she has left our home." Ishizu responded, "Are Yugi Muto and the others with you?"

Annoyance appeared on Kaiba's features and in his voice. "No."

"Are they coming with you?" She questioned him.

"Why should I care." Kaiba snapped back.

"Because I will not help you if you do not have them coming with you to Egypt." She stated this with absolute certainty.

"What?!"

Click. The phone call was disconnected. Kaiba stared at the phone in his hand, shaking in rage that she just ordered him to do something and that the something involved Yugi Muto. Mokuba looked slightly nervous and had heard the conversation through the telephone. He started talking quickly.

"Hello, this is Ishizu." She knew who was calling this time.

"Ishizu, has Anzu been staying with you? Do you know where she is?" Yugi's voice was filled with worry and desperation.

She thought to herself, here we go again. "Yes, and yes. Are you with Kaiba?"

"No. Why-" Confusion replaced the anxiousness in Yugi's tone.

"Are you going to call him?" She asked him, her voice slightly lilting.

Yugi snapped back at her, upset. "Why would I call Kaiba, he'll just want to duel at the most inappropriate time."

"Because I will not help you if you do not have him and his brother coming with you to Egypt." She stated this with the same absolute certainty as she did with Kaiba.

"What?!"

Click. The call disconnected and Yugi was left standing there holding the phone. His cheeks darkened with rage at Ishizu for playing whatever game she was playing. Sugoroku and Rebecca had heard the whole conversation and started to try to quickly diffuse Yugi.

Ishizu put her closed fists on the table and looked at Rishid. "Each of my hands' digits is one minute. As the clock turns, I'll release one from my fist. They will call back together before I reach the tenth one." Rishid could only chuckle.

On her ninth finger, the phone rang again.

"Hello, this is Ishizu." She thought to herself this was already getting old at this hour of night.

"We have come to an understanding. Yugi and his... friends are going to be flying with Mokuba and myself to Egypt." Kaiba didn't even bother to say hello to her this time. She could hear his voice had dropped octaves. She was pretty sure he was mad at her for this.

Yugi added in, his voice strained. "However, we will have to find our own way back to Japan after getting there."

"That is acceptable. Pack your things and make your way to the airport. I will clear the way. Kaiba, redirect the flight to Luxor. There is no reason to come to Cairo," She told them.

Click. Ishizu had other calls she needed to make and quickly. She dialed the number for the president of the archaeological society in Luxor.

"I hate how she does that." Both said this at the same time and realized they had heard each other. They hung up on one another without another word.

Within half an hour, Yugi's group had made it to the airport. Everyone was traveling light. The most important part was for everyone to have their passports and identification. Each person in the group had a single carry-on, if even that as Jonouchi and Bakura were going in what they were wearing, and they raced across the busy Tokyo airport. No one would put it pass him to take off without them. The group was glad to see Mokuba waiting for them at the gate to the private Kaiba Corporation jet.

Leading them onto the plane, Mokuba told them, "Apparently, we are all now special guests of the Egyptian Government for historical research on the Valley of the Kings. We fly to Luxor. The Ishutarus will meet us at the airport there."

Across the globe, Mariku was being awakened by Ishizu and Rishid. They shook him several times before he grunted something indecipherable.

Ishizu seized on his semi-wakefullness and insisted, "Wake up, Marik. We make our move to Luxor. They will be arriving before the end of the day. Rishid, grab a few light things, our identifications and documents, and get the car started. We'll be there soon." He left the room to follow Ishizu's instructions.

Mariku woke up, and then the memory of the night before came back to him, "I cannot believe that you-"

"There is no time for that right now. We can talk on the road. We have to get to Luxor. They are coming." She cut him off quickly and grabbed his duffel bag, throwing it on him before she left the room.

South of Cairo and west of Luxor, deep in the Valley of the Kings, Anzu stood before a rubble-blocked doorway. This was the tomb, she was sure of it. Her dreams from years ago when she saw Atemu walking into its hallway's darkness came back to her, when she entered with Yugi and the others when they were in the ancient past, and her own imaginations and daydreams. Here, the body of Pharaoh Atemu had been laid to rest. His reign was short, his name only known by a few, but his life changed the world.

Her toe scuffed the sand where she had once stood, thousands of years ago. Or did she, it was sometimes hard to figure out if what had happened was in the real world or not. Past and present had merged in a dangerous hold over everyone's future. And here she was, carrying the book that started it all on her back.

She removed her pack, set it next to her, and pulled out the Millennium Tome. If there had been less fear of the destruction of Egypt in those times, they might not have used this book. However, it didn't stop it from being used in the future as well. In the past, there were whole retinues of spell casters who tried to translate it, but she had been given the key. Atemu had given it to her, for better or worse.

Carefully setting it and herself down in the sand, Anzu removed her shoes and noticed that her left foot appeared swollen. There was no time to examine it further as she put on a pair of simple slippers. She leaned back to take a look at the starry night sky over her. She wanted to take in one look before she began this part of her journey. Anzu did not know how long she would have to be in the tomb before she returned with Atemu.

Standing back up, she retrieved the ancient spell book and turned the pages. Her path was blocked, she would need a spell to help her remove the obstruction. Her eyes lighted on one of the ones that looked appropriate for her task. Reading over the incantation a few times, she felt confident for this task. It was not a very complex spell.

Bowing her head, she closed the tome and placed her left hand over it while her right supported it and began to murmur the incantation. Her voice became stronger and stronger as she repeated it until she was yelling it out in the valley, her eyes on the rocks over the entryway. She pulled her left hand and held it, palm facing outward as she finished the spell.

Nothing happened. Not even a tremor or movement of a pebble. Anzu could hear her own voice echoing back at her like the stones were mocking her attempt. What had she done wrong? She was sure the words were correct. The spell itself listed only the words, no components or anything. She turned back to the page and read over the cyphered hieroglyphs that had scared her mind over the weeks of study and translation. Her other spell had worked when she had been out there in the desert surrounded by the bandits. She had called Atemu successfully by need of protection. What was different?

Mariku's voice came back to her, "A sacrifice. Always a sacrifice. Be it in skin, hair, blood or … body."

Her mind flashed to when she cut the thief, to her tears falling onto his blood that stained her hand, and the heat from the tome at her back.

That was what had been different. Anzu fell to her knees in the sand next to her backpack. She clasped the tome tightly to her chest as she stared at her obstruction ahead of her. Tears fell down her cheeks and she knew cold fear, but something else arose within her. Her tears stopped and her mouth set itself into a thin line of determination.

"I will not be stopped," she said to herself, she could hear the change in her own voice. A stronger person was speaking through her it seemed, but it was really her.

Dropping the spellbook in front of her, she dug out the wicked dagger of the mercenary from her pack's side pocket. She held it up in front of her and could see the crescent of the moon reflecting back to her on the surface. Taking the knife before she could let herself really think about what she was doing, she deeply slashed her left hand and blood gushed from the self-inflicted wound. Dropping the blade, she picked up the Millennium Tome with her other hand. She knew why the leather had such a dark color to it now.

Facing the boulders once again, Anzu slammed her bleeding left hand onto the tome. Her body felt like a thousand strikes of lightening was running through it now, and she almost dropped the book. She had to hold on for both of their sakes. This was for them. This was the road of pain, like in her dream, but she knew dawn had to be over the horizon soon. It had to come for them. This small sacrifice was worth it if she saw Atemu again.

Each of the golden symbols on the Millennium Tome began to glow. It cast a radiant circle of light around her in the darkness. She gripped the cover and pulled it open, flipping to the page of her spell. Blood flowed on every symbol.

"Land of my people, land of the Gods," she intoned in the Ancient Egyptian dialect, "I call for you to bend to my Will and Power. I am child of the Gods, free of sin, and call forth to you to hear my voice, hear my cry!"

A tremor responded to her throughout the earth. Birds that had been in roost flew up into the sky, squawking at the sudden minor earthquake. Flapping from their wings and calls echoed against the space around the entrance to the tomb. Clicking and clacking of various desert insects added to the noise as they ran from the area and across stones to safer locations.

"Hear my cry, oh ancient stones of earth!" She vociferated to the mountains and stones in front of the entrance. "Make clear the path to the Pharaoh! Make clear the way to Pharaoh Atemu, son of Akhenamkhanen. O' ancient stones, move from your rest and open the doorway of the tomb. I come not to pillage or harm, but to find Pharaoh Atemu!"

She cried her words again and again, and held her bloody palm up and facing toward the obstruction. Wind blew across the area, lifting sand into her eyes and pulling at her veil. It felt like her soul was being wrenched by something and then, she felt the release. One by one, the rocks blocking the entrance rolled away. The pathway was open.


	28. Illuminated

Anzu stared at the revealed entrance with her mouth wide open in surprise. Falling down into the sand, she sat there for a long moment in awe of what had happened. She looked down at the Millennium Tome, now a seemingly normal ancient text. No longer did the power seep from the pages to engulf her in their glow; she was surrounded by the darkness of night once again. Her fingertips on her wounded hand played over the golden hieroglyphs, and that was when she noticed how much it pain was coming from the cut.

"Oh god, it hurts," she whimpered.

She was not prepared for wounds and tried to figure out what to do next. Her blood flow had slowed, but it was still trickling from the cut. Grabbing the knife with her unmarred hand, she cut a strip of fabric from her veil and used that to tie the other hand up. It proved difficult to tie it one-handed, and she gave up to use her hand and teeth to get it tight enough.

Rummaging through the pack, she pulled out the flashlight and matches and put them in one of the outer pockets. Into the main compartment with her canteen, she replaced the Millennium Tome. Her knife was strapped to the back of it and attached with a couple of stray cords. She stood up again and grimaced as she put the pack on again. Her foot was really bothering her, but she had no transportation or anywhere else she could go for the night. In the morning, she would have it looked it. Now, she needed to face the darkness ahead of her.

Anzu carefully made her way through the remaining bits of rubble strewn across the ground outside the dark chasm that marked her way into the tomb. Everything seemed so silent now. The wind had stopped, the sound of rolling rocks and their echoing had dispersed, and there was no other living creatures of around her. It was creepy, and her skin felt like it was crawling. She could turn back. She could always turn back if she wanted, it would not be hard. It would probably be easier than going into this tomb.

She stroked the rough-hewn entryway. Thousands of years had altered the formally smooth lines of the entrance. Anzu remembered the first time she entered this place. She was also aware that Yugi's grandfather also had similar experiences in the present time-line. This was a tomb known for being a trap.

Anzu wrapped her bandaged hand around her cartouch, twin to Atemu's, and whispered into the darkness, "Atemu, please help me. Do not let your traps harm me."

She closed her eyes, and behind her lids she could see a warm glow. In her mind's eye, she saw him holding his tanned hand out to her. It was daylight and the shadows were cool in here. Anzu reached forward with her other hand and clasped his. She followed where he led, stepping deeper into the darkness of the tomb. She could hear small pebbles being shifted with her shuffling feet as she walked. Afraid of falling, she opened her eyes.

Her mirage of Atemu vanished. She was surrounded in pitch black darkness. Anzu could hear her own heartbeat in her eardrums, each beat sounding louder than the one previous. Her rapid breathing seemed to be sucked into the emptiness around her. She closed her eyes again, but he did not reappear. Fumbling into her pack's outer pocket, she pulled out the flashlight and turned it on.

She was standing in a long corridor decorated with carvings and hieroglyphs that went from floor to ceiling. Even above her, sacred images adorned the stone overhead. Her small beam of light accented the smallness of the space, and she could feel panic rising from the sudden feeling of claustrophobia invading her senses. Bile began to rise up in the back of her throat, and she forced herself to try to stay calm, but when she started to hear whispers in the darkness, her idea of being calm vanished.

"Who-who-who's there?" She whispered into the darkness.

Her own voice echoed along the walls and back to her, sounding like she was saying to herself "Air."

She chuckled. She was just being silly, letting the dark get to her. There was only air around her. No one had been in this tomb for years. Anzu leaned against the wall and laughed harder. She felt funny, her body almost felt like it did at the dentist once when they gave her a numbing agent.

Anzu finally accepted that she was safe and commented aloud, "There's no one here, but myself."

Her voice echoed back, "Self... self...self..."

She shined the light along the wall in front of her and noticed an old tar torch set into a iron ring. There seemed to be a fair few of them along the walls and one was to her right. Distracted momentarily by the rough wooden beacons of light, it was then that she realized that her echo wasn't fading. Her voice was coming back to her louder and louder. She started spinning the flashlight down one way and that, mounting fear was causing her limbs to tremble. Why was it not becoming quieter like it did when she first spoke?

"Self... self... Shadow... self-serving... self-keeping... selfish girl." Her own voice was calling to her in falsetto sarcastic tones.

"No, no... I'm not selfish!" She argued back, her fright causing her voice to sound strained.

Her own laughter came back from the shadows. She could see faces forming in the darkness, swirling like ink where her light did not shine. Anzu could also see how the beam of light was shaking in her hand.

Her eyes were wild with dread as she tried to figure out what to do. "Light, I need more light."

Using her cut hand, she dug out the pack of matches and tried to light one while holding the flashlight. However, her fingertips felt numb and her cut was bleeding anew. She pulled it along the side of the box, but it didn't spark. Anzu could not get enough of a thrust behind her movement to light it. She was going to have to put the flashlight down to do this, but she did not want to put the light down. The dark was scaring her.

"Please... please..." Tears were falling from her eyes as she tried again while still holding the flashlight.

Laugher echoed back at her, her own voice spoke again, "Please... please..." The echo returned to mock her.

She kept trying to strike it, but she ruefully realized that it wasn't going to happen this way, and she had to light the torches to keep whatever was in the dark away from her. A primal sense told her this. Her strange thought went to why fire was discovered, it must have been created to ward away the creatures in the dark.

Giving up, she used the feeble artificial beam to look around and noticed that the pointed bases of the torches were metal and pressed tight against the wall. If she could shove the flashlight between the stone and metal, that could keep the light on and free her hands long enough to light the match. Deciding to try this with the one she was next to, Anzu shined the light onto the heavily decorated torch. She noticed that the eyes decorated the brim where the wood was placed into its bowl.

Anzu shoved her flashlight in and checked to make sure it was in there well before turning her attention back to the matches. Her own voice was all around her now, saying please over and over again as it continued manically laugh. The match was not lighting, she threw it down and pulled another one out, trying again.

"Come on, please light."

"Lies... lies... lies... You tell such pretty lies..." Amazingly, they sounded even closer than before, and this match was also proving to be useless.

She pulled another one light and then the flashlight flickered. For one brief second she was in complete darkness, and then the light was back. Anzu was leaning against the wall, her pack pressed against her back with the light shining upward to create a maximum halo around her. She had bit through her lip to keep from screaming, and a small trickle of blood escaped her lips. Her nostrils flared with her rapid breathing, her breasts heaving up and down. During that moment of darkness, she had become completely still. Shaking her head out of it, she tried to light the match again.

They wouldn't light. It wasn't working. The flashlight flickered again.

"Atemu, you promised I would be safe... you promised," she was whimpering like a small child, she could hear it herself, "Atemu..."

"Atemu... Atemu... Pharaoh... Pharaoh... Far away..." Her echo did not whimper at her. It growled from the darkness, "Pharaoh cannot protect you..."

Anzu felt a memory from her youth come back to her. As a little girl, they had moved so much because of her father's job and found themselves in another new home. This one was in America and somewhere cold. She wanted to say Seattle but couldn't remember correctly. Father and Mother had rented a large house that was drafty and cold. Her first night there, they had put her in a nearly bare bedroom, and she begged for a night-light. It was creepy in that old house, and most of its furniture was draped with heavy white sheets like corpses in a morgue. They obliged her, but sometime during her sleep, the light's bulb had expired. She remembered waking up in complete darkness and hearing nothing but wind and squeaking boards. Her child-self had screamed and screamed in her bed, hidden under the blankets, until her parents rushed into the room. After that night, she slept with her parents until they moved to a nice, modern apartment in the next location.

"Light... please..." She begged the coated stick of wood grasped between her fingertips. Horrible laughter without words simply responded this time.

Whatever it was that was talking in the dark felt like it was just beyond the small circle of light around her. Anzu noticed that the light's brightness was becoming smaller and more faint. How was that possible? Her flashlight had new batteries; there was no way it could be dying. She turned to take a look at it, and her elbow bumped the into the torch holder and her flashlight. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched in horror as the flashlight wiggled in the space she had shoved it. Her scream came as she watched it fall. Her echo shrieked in triumph back at her.

Within seconds, she was plunged into a darkness so thick she could taste it in her throat and feel it on her skin. Her hands were striking the match as quickly as she could against its matchbox. Anzu felt a cold in her body that she had never felt before. Something was running toward her. She could hear footsteps, or was that footsteps, slapping against the stone ground. She kept attempting to strike her match.

She heard it strike before the match flared to life. Her elation was short-lived when at the same time she saw a harpy-like creature hissing at her and running from her light. This was no harpy like the ones that Mai dueled with. Rotted green skin hung off its face, and it's milky white eyes rolled in its skull with red irises. Claws replaced its fingernails which were pressed against its chest. There was no beauty in this creature that had rushed at her. Before the match burnt out, Anzu placed the flame against the tar of the torch and it came to life. Screaming in anger, the creature ran further away into the darkness and away from the lifesaving glow.

Anzu nearly slid down the wall in relief. She bent over and picked up the flashlight, shaking it a few times. Its light flickered but never stayed steady again. Frowning, she shoved it back into the pocket of her pack. Looking again at her savior of the moment, she wondered if it was very heavy. She was going to need to carry something with her, and this could light the other torches around. She wasn't sure if the creature she saw had went deeper into the tomb or toward where Anzu had come from. Regardless, she was going to walk the other way. Pushing up on the torch, she heard the metal cone scrape against the iron ring in protest, but it came out.

Stepping to the other side of the narrow corridor, she lit its twin. Warm firelight crackled around her, and she felt much better to have it. Trudging in the opposite direction of the thing, Anzu continued onward. She realized it must have gone toward the entrance because the ground was sloping downward. She continued to light any other torches she found and imagined this is what it must have looked like thousands of years ago when people carved the symbols and images into the stone around her.

As she walked, the pain from so many steps eventually accentuated the soreness of her lame foot. She wondered if this was a corridor without end, but then knew it wasn't so when she reached what appeared to be a large, box-shaped room. This wasn't in the stories from Yugi's grandpa and others. She wondered if Atemu's tomb transformed itself as it saw fit to keep outsiders away. It was a possibility, they did create the Millennium Items. It would be easy to design traps that changed after performing magic like that.

On the far side of the room, there was a set of double-doors. They were decorated with life-sized images of Atemu, Mahado, and Priest Seto. Mahado was on the left and Seto was on the right, and each figure was in the class three-quarter pose commonly found in Ancient Egyptian carvings. Columns rose on either side of the door, and there seemed to be floating steps in the background. Anzu approached these doors and pushed them open. Text on the archway offered her no clue as to what she would walk into next.

Her eyes set on a room that seemed to be a void. Anzu's torch seemed to offer minuscule light in this space. Looking down, she yelped. She was standing on the razor edge of a cliff, and below her, more of the inky blackness. She stepped back and frowned. How was she supposed to get across? Glancing side to side didn't show much in the way to alternatives, so she went back into the main chamber and looked at the doors again.

Stairs in the air? It was stygian darkness in there and emptiness. She walked back into the doorway, running her free hand along the wall. Maybe there was a switch or something. Finally, she felt a small spherical shape that was poking out the wall, but it was over the chasm. Anzu hoped she didn't drop the torch, but she figured light had been helpful so far, why not see if this was a sconce or something similar. Reaching, she manged to touch the flame to to the lip of the wall decoration.

Lighting the sconce caused a chain reaction to occur in the chamber. One after another, other light fixtures were lit as a single beam of flame raced along hidden channels in the walls. However, the numerous lights did nothing to illuminate the wide gap of darkness in the center. They did light up the various platforms set into the walls that went all around the room. If one was nimble enough, they might be able to use them to get across. It was these that Anzu was staring at in despair.

"You have got to be kidding me!" This time there was no echo back, and her voice sounded flat in her ears.

There was no way she was going to be able to handle jumping ledge from to ledge in this room. If her foot hadn't been hurting her, there was a possibility she could have done this. She leaned over the edge to look, but of course, she couldn't see anything down there but blackness. She sat down on the ledge and grabbed a nearby pebble. Throwing it into the yawning gap, she waited for any sort of sound that it had landed. She waited five minutes before giving up on it landing anywhere near her.

Eying the ledges, Anzu removed the shoe from her left foot. She then proceeded to rip another strip of linen from her veil and then wrapped it tightly around her ankle. She figured it might have a sprain or something. Right now, there wasn't much time to think and if she did, she might lose her nerve. She stood back up and then used the remainder of the scarflike veil to tie the pack more securely to her body. Anzu didn't want her center of gravity to suddenly shift.

If she jumped by pushing up with her good foot, it should give her enough leverage. It appeared either way would get her to the other side, and they both were the same distance. She supposed it was all relative at this point. Leaving the torch at the doorway, she took a running start and leaped to the first ledge on her right.

The distance wasn't far, but the landing jarred her lame leg. Biting back her cry of pain, she steeled herself for another jump. This one was angled up and a bit further off. Anzu backed as far as she could on the ledge she was at and then ran and jumped for the other one. Her body slammed into the side of the outcropping, and her breath was knocked for her. She scrambled as quickly as she could to keep a handhold and pull herself up. Two down and only a countless number remained she thought ruefully to herself.

Speaking out loud to herself again, Anzu said, "I can do this... I can... I just can't... think about it." She ran and leaped for the next one.

Each ledge blended into itself as she made slow progress around the walls of the room. Only the light from the burning channels around her offered any illumination to her next one. Above, below, and in the center of the room was the dark emptiness she did not want to fall into. Hours passed, maybe it was minutes, it was harder and harder to tell in this place where time held no meaning for her anymore. All she had to do was keep going forward. Finally, she landed on the ledge to the exit.

Rolling over to stare at the images above her, Anzu panted from her exertions. She felt exhausted and tired, but she couldn't rest yet. Sitting up, she removed the ties from the pack and pulled out the last canteen of water. She tried not to drink greedily, but she was so thirsty. Her mouth was salivating profusely. Mentally deciding she had enough, although her body protested, Anzu capped the water and stood back up. Her left foot and leg were killing her with a throbbing pain that radiated up to her knee.

She took a look down the next hall and saw a curious sight. A wavering glow was just in front of her now. Anzu could make out some of the details, but the image was fuzzy. It was almost like that of a television with poor reception. As it came in clearer, she saw it was Atemu. He was gesturing wildly at her, and his mouth was moving but it was difficult to hear what he was trying to tell her.

"Anzu... go... third... return..." His words were as distorted as his manifestation and didn't come through clearly, except a few.

"Atemu! I don't understand, what is wrong?" She cried out to the image, trying to reach for him.

Her hand passed through him, and he vanished. Anzu was left alone in the dark again.


	29. Invoked

This hall seemed to go on forever, like the ones before it. Anzu wondered when she would reach the end. She must have been walking for hours now. It felt like it had been hours. Time was becoming a confusing concept to continue to grasp. She had found another lit torch in the wall at the exit from the room with the chasm, and she took this with her as she made her way deeper. At each unlit torch, she used it to light them. It made her feel better to have light where she went.

Images here were slightly different than the ones she had seen in the other corridors. Instead of facing the same way as she was, they were facing toward her. It gave an impression that she was walking against a crowd. Fine, then she would persevere through this inanimate crowd if she had to, she thought to herself. She just hoped it wouldn't continue forever.

Was it another hour? Two? She had started counting her steps and then, she lost count once she exceeded one thousand steps. Walk, light torches, and walk some more had become her repetitive action. Done with this, she stopped and collapsed onto the dusty ground.

"This is insane, how much further can this go on?" She cried aloud, asking herself out loud the question on her mind.

Anzu buried her face into her arms that she rested on her bent knees. She could see the skin of her left calve appeared to be bruised, a fine tracery of purple lines were running up it toward her knee. She had really been so rough on herself this whole time when so much had changed in her life in just the past two months. Had two months gone by? She wondered this to herself, trying to add up the days since Atemu first came into her life. The diversion seemed to help her a little bit. At the very least, it took focus off the unending corridor.

It made very little sense to her on why the carved images were facing her. Usually, they would be in groups to tell a story, but in this case every image she had passed had been walking toward her and away from the direction she presumed her destination was located at. Could this be another trick or challenge? Plus, she was no closer to figuring out what Atemu had been trying to tell her than when he told her it.

Standing up and ignoring convention, it didn't matter in this place it seemed, Anzu turned around and started walking with the images. She passed the torches she had just lit before sitting down, they crackled in their holders. Her wounded hand went to her cartouche, and she prayed to Atemu to guide her. She had to have faith that she would find her way, no matter how strange it may be. After she had traveled a few more feet, she came across another set of torches. These were unlit.

Blinking, she reached out and lit them. Her silent companions on the walls now walked in the same direction as she was, but this pair should have not been out. She had used her torch to light them only an hour or so ago, maybe less. They didn't even look like anyone had lit them before. In fact, she couldn't see her foot steps in the fine sand that dusted the floor. Swallowing her own fear at this shifting place, she continued onward.

She then found herself standing at a crossroads. Three paths diverged from the main one. Their arches were decorated with unique images all their own. However, the way they were in order did not make sense. Her far left had an image of a rising sun over the topmost of its arch. The middle held emblems of a moon and stars, and finally, the far right one held a depiction of a bright noonday sun. Her right one had other images that seemed peaceful and kind, displaying all the joys of family life. In the middle, it showed what could only seem to be of fame and fortune. As for the left one, it seemed to be of horrific images of pain, all except one. A single image there near the rising sun showed two people clasped together against the horde below them.

Anzu thought to herself that this seemed to be like her dream, the one she had before she traveled south toward Luxor. Deciding to try to give faith and portents a chance, she walked into the leftmost corridor. In her dream, this path has been the most frightening, but it had offered something none of the other paths offered her. It offered hope and a chance to be with Atemu, even if the cost was great.

This time, there were no lanterns to light as she made her way, and she walked deeper into the tomb with what she had. Beneath her feet, the ground continuously sloped downward, and the air felt like it was becoming cooler against her heated skin. Anzu's walk was not like the corridor she had been trapped in. She found herself at the end of this one fairly quickly and standing before a set of pure gold doors.

She knew she was at the right location, now. There was no denying the obvious symbolism that was connected with the Millennium Items. Upon the huge golden door, the Millennium Puzzle seemed to glow in her firelight. Surrounding the puzzle were the other items, and each was wrought with just as much detail. Anzu couldn't help the thought that any tomb-robber would consider this their finest catch, or any archaeologist their lifetime achievement. Every detail was in sharp relief and seemed to appear that they were carved the day before. She wondered if she was the first person in three-thousand years to stand at the entrance to the inner sanctum, because this could be nothing else.

Anzu reached out to touch where the two doors met, her fingertips brushing over the eye. It felt warm to her, like she was touching someone's sun-kissed flesh. Pulling back for moment, brief hesitation sparked within her. Dare she enter the room beyond the doors? Her blue eyes darkened as her emotions tore through her. Fear of what may lay beyond was the most predominant of her negative thoughts, but then a beacon shined through and cut it away. How could she not enter them became her question as she pushed the doors open.

Thousands of items were in next room. When Atemu had died after fighting against Zorc, it looked as if his people had done everything they could to ensure a comfortable afterlife for him. Barrels of wine and drink were in a corner, sealed casks of foodstuffs in another, gold, jewelery, and clothing were abundant, and tools of his office and needs were at hand as well. In the center of the room, a large golden altar stood. It was on a slightly upraised dais of polished stone. Much like the decorations of the entrance, this room was coated in golden frescoes that lined the walls around her.

On the other side, instead of a doorway, there was an archway. A blank cartouche was at its apex. She remembered how in the past, under his own orders, Atemu's name was stripped from the records. Beyond that entrance had to be what she was searching for, what would be required by the heka, magic, to bring him to her. Contained in that room must be his sarcophagus.

Striding across the room, Anzu was passing the golden altar when she collapsed upon the ground. A cry of pain escaped her lips as she twisted onto her right side. Pain inflamed her left side, and it felt like tendrils of it were running up from her leg to her chest. Forcing her tearing eyes open, she reached over and ripped off her shoe and bandage. Her entire left leg had turned purple over the time she had spent within Atemu's tomb. A fine tracery of angry red welts were underneath her skin, and she could see yellow pustules surrounding a spot on her bare ankle, just above where the lip of her shoe ended.

It was then that she realized she had been feverish since she entered the tomb. Her skin was slightly flushed from the sick heat building inside of her. Anzu tried to think of when she had received the wound. Blue eyes widen in realization, she knew exactly when it happened. It was when the scorpions were attacking her would-be attacker. The black, insect-like bodies had been swarming across the ground like ants to a feast, and Atemu had told her to get on her camel, but she had been too scared to move. One of them must have stung her when he pulled her up.

She turned over onto her stomach and slowly pushed herself up. Anzu felt she had to get into the room ahead of her no matter what. In her fall, she had dropped her light source and it was threatening to go out. Pulling herself along the dais' low stairs, she managed to get herself standing again. She hobbled over to the torch and grabbed the heavy wooden piece. Slowly, and careful not to put too much weight on her bum foot, she made her way to the doors. Anzu pushed them open using her shoulder.

Inside this room, while no less opulent than the one prior, it was simple in design. Its main centerpiece was the great, golden and heavily decorated sarcophagus in the center. She smiled softly as she gazed at it. They had spared no detail when carving Atemu's likeness onto it. Precious jewels accented his eyes and body and along the edges. She could see where the lid met with the main compartment of the coffin. Anzu started looking around for a way to remove the lid. She dejectedly sighed when nothing presented itself as a suitable help. From what she remembered about the ancient coffins, they were well-sealed and often required power tools to crack open.

Around the room, the carven images of the Egyptian Gods looked after the sarcophagus. It was to these that she warily regarded. There were two torches on either side of the archway she had just entered, and Anzu lit them to get a better look at the decorations. She dropped her own heavy torch. There didn't seem to be a reason for her to keep carrying it. She stumbled up to the tomb and pulled her pack off, dropping it on top of the coffin. Pulling out the canteen, she guzzled the last of her water. There was no reason to keep doling out portions. She put it back in the pack and pulled out the Millennium Tome. Pushing the pack aside and onto the floor, she set the spellbook in its place on the gilded coffin.

"There... there is no reason for me not to try everything I have," she whispered to herself, "I... I... I know I only have a few hours left to live."

Tears fell from her eyes and down her cheeks. They settled at her chin and dripped onto the tome. It seemed to activate the book. All she could do was try.

"O ye Gods, hear my cry and take my tears, open forth the sarcophagus that my hands touch." Her hands pressed down on the sides of the coffin next to the Millennium Tome. "Let my will and sorrow be fuel for this task. Open the sarcophagus of Pharaoh Atemu, son of Akhenamkhanen."

She felt a rumbling within the sarcophagus and pulled her hands off, grabbing the book with her as she quickly backed away. Her fast movement brought her further pain, but she kept silent to prevent the spell being interrupted.

Atemu's sarcophagus began to open, and it was just as much a puzzle as that of the Millennium Puzzle. The outer lid swing around to reveal an inner tomb, which its lid moved to point upward. Sides of the coffin in both directions arched downward, and additional inner lids slid down to the ground. After it was finished opening, it gave an impression of a water lily's petals.

She approached the nearly opened sarcophagus, clutching the vibrating spell book to her chest, and looked in. Anzu wasn't sure what she was expecting. Inside, she could see the mummified remains of Atemu. It was strange, and she almost felt like she was outside her body watching, but it just didn't seem right to her. He was a force of nature and vibrancy. This corpse wrapped in linen was nothing more than a once shell of his soul. A soul that had captured her heart without a true body of his own.

Anzu knew what the book wanted from her now. Her knowledge had been gained through experience. Sacrifice. It echoed in her mind. She wondered if it really was a sacrifice when everything was so close to ending. A soft smile touched her lips as she tilted her head, observing the eye-embossed circlet that the mummy wore. Any other time she would have considered herself morbid, but this was different she thought to herself as she knelt over the edge of the sarcophagus and lightly kissed the papery cheek of the corpse.

"If I can have one thing, one thing at all, Atemu," she said to the well-preserved body, "It is just one last moment in time with you."

Anzu closed her eyes and opened the Millennium Tome, it fell open to the page she needed. When she reopened her eyes, the blue of them had become darker than lapis. Her pack had been pushed by the opening of the sarcophagus, but she reached in easily and pulled out the knife. She knew it was not a spell that would bring him fully into the physical plane, but it would bring him here long enough she supposed. The spell for a full resurrection required too much. That spell made the one for the Millennium Items look minor. For some reason, she had thought that maybe she could have avoided that price, but she had learned much since entering the tomb. However, this spell required not nearly as much.

She propped the book in the crook of her right arm and held the knife next to it, both directly over Atemu's remains. Anzu made a move to slash her left arm over the blade, but stopped. She had to be brave she told herself, she just had to grit her teeth and take it.

To herself, she softly said, "I'm going to be dead soon enough. What difference will a cut make..."

Still, it took a couple of false starts before she squeezed her eyes shut with it poised next to the blade and pulled her arm across it. It felt like fire had pierced through her skin, and then an ocean was pouring out of it. Anzu opened her eyes to see her red, very red, blood flowing out of the wound and onto the book and Atemu's body. In response, the Millennium Tome began to audibly hum with power. Trying to stay brave, Anzu switched hands and did likewise to her right. Her blood stained the pages and cover of the book, dripping over Atemu's mummy and darkening the ancient linen wraps with her own gore.

Her voice became low as she intoned the beginnings of her spell, "Oh Aset, Great Mother Goddess, You who reformed the body of Asar who was cruelly taken from You by Setekh, the Brother, and cast asunder, please bless my work this day. Keep still the eyes of Inpu, He who guards the path to the Lands of Aaru, let Him know not of this task this day. Once before, through the power of Re, Divine Father and Sun, Inpu was forced to teach unto You and mortals the ways of the dead. It is these ways that I call upon in Your Divine Name."

In her arms, the book was shaking as its vibrations became stronger. Anzu swallowed her fears and continued invoking the goddess seven times before she started the enchantments of the main spell. This spell, like the other spells of life, had no true known words. She and Mariku had transliterated the pronunciations based upon the symbols marking them. She almost felt like the hand of the Goddess was guiding her as her voice rose and fell with the words, making sense of the senseless.

Across the world, those who carried the bloodlines of priests and spellcasters dating back to the Pharaohs awoke in their beds or found themselves struck dumb.

Madame Mikala, in New York, awoke as the clock struck the eleventh hour of night. Grasping her ankh in her hands, she whispered in fright, "It has begun, I can feel the pull of the worlds. The Gods will surely punish the swan. He will come for me first!" She fell out of bed and grabbed a small dish filled with black salt. She began to draw a circle around herself with it.

On a plane currently over the open skies and heading toward Luxor, Kaiba, Yugi, and Bakura cried out in pain. If felt as if a knife had just run over their souls. Confused, the rest of the group ran in three directions to attend their friends. Mokuba was yelling out for assistance with Kaiba.

Ishizu had fallen asleep against the window when her family left Cairo for Luxor. Rishid was racing down one of the sandy highways since traffic was still light at this hour. As the sun rose over the horizon, Mariku yelled out in pain. She felt it as well, but her control was greater. Sitting straight up in her seat, she turned and faced Rishid, "Faster, Rishid, we are already too late to stop it, but we must be there for the end. Gods help us all." She then turned her attention to attending her younger brother, his violet eyes wide in anguish.

Deep within the Valley of the Kings, Anzu could feel a surge running through her and into the sarcophagus. A golden glow permeated from the linen wrappings of the mummy and cast her in tones of bronze. Motes of light danced within the body and joined together at where the heart was located. Her blood, where it had dropped upon the wrappings, was absorbed with this light. She watched in awe as the luminescence of the heart rose into the air before her. On the other side of the sarcophagus, she could see the outline of Atemu beginning to form.

As he solidified, he appeared to be wooden and like a statue. His violet eyes looked like insets of glass upon his sharply angled face, and his arms stayed at his sides. Anzu dared not to make a sound, lest she interrupt what was happening. She noticed something new reaching out to the heart's light, silver tendrils were coming from her own heart. A pull upon her own soul had started, and it felt like she couldn't breath. Just as it felt like her heart would burst, the incandescent orb floated and settled into the chest of Atemu. He took a great heaving breath of air. At the same time, Anzu collapsed along the side of his coffin.

"Anzu!" Atemu cried out as he ran around the lily opening to her. Knelling, he pulled her up in his arms, "Oh by the Gods, what have you done?"

She smiled weakly, her voice as light as a sigh, "I had to see you... one more time and tell you... everything."

Noticing the deep wounds running along the length of her arms, he bit his lip. Pulling her tattered veil from her head, he ripped it to shreds and tightly wrapped the bleeding limbs. Atemu cradled Anzu in his arms as he silently wept.

"Why? Please, tell me why you would put yourself and life in danger?" His voice was choked with emotion on seeing her like this.

She could feel herself weakening, but by being held there in his arms, to hear his concern, it gave her a renewed last burst of strength. Anzu sat up and wrapped her own arms around his neck.

Looking into his emotional eyes, thick with unshed tears, Anzu spoke to him, her voice quiet and intense. "Atemu, I had to see you one more time before the poison took me. I had to continue. I... When I started this journey, I was not sure what I was going to do when I got here. I didn't know if I would. I felt I had to reach your sarcophagus, that there was a key here. At least, the Millennium Tome indicated that great life magic could be performed here.

"However, in the desert, one of the scorpions must have stung me. My leg is severely infected and my blood carries the poison to my heart. I don't think I have much time left now. An allergic reaction has already begun.

"I had to tell you how I truly felt about you. Atemu, when you saved me from committing suicide months ago, you gave me life once more. I was dead inside, held by my vices. Do not think that I did not notice that my vices lost their hold over me in time after that. Yes, it was not a sudden process, but by the time I came to Cairo, I had changed. I had a singular purpose in life that caused me to forget all my sorrows. In New York, I saw them everywhere, but that was the land of loneliness and mistakes for me.

"Here, here in Egypt, I have made the right decisions. Sometimes, it came in a round about way, and unorthodox, but I feel that these decisions have been the right ones. Something in my heart tells me that this is so.

"I know... I know... that I was not part of your life when you were living. However, now, even if it will only last hours, I now get to share a part of your living life. I can feel your breath and heart like they are another living being's. Atemu, you are alive, now. And I can tell you... tell you what I have kept inside so long, so long since the first time I sensed your presence in the body of my best friend."

Anzu smiled up at him, her blue eyes filling with tears. Atemu's had started to trail down his cheeks. He had been very patient with her, letting Anzu say her piece. She caressed his cheek, her thumb stroking away tears.

"Atemu, I love you." She spoke the words with all her heart and soul behind them.

He pulled her up closer to him, cradling her head in his hand. Their hearts beat over one another, and a barest breath separated them. Anzu could see love shining in his eyes, love for her. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen.

"Anzu, I love you, too." He murmured the words to her. "I have always loved you."

Atemu's lips closed the space between them, and Anzu lost herself to his kiss. Both of their eyes had closed. Only the saltiness of their tears offset the sheer sweetness of the moment. It was slow, lazy, and the type of kiss that goes on without end, without need to breathe. They were consumed by the fire within each other where their mouths and tongues met. She clung to him tighter; it felt as if she would drown in the force of the passion sparking between them like midsummer lightning.

They broke the kiss together. Atemu's hands were running along her sides and back, and his eyes were like violet flame. Anzu felt like she would be consumed by it if she stared long enough into them.

"If I am to live, even for a brief time, I want to share those moments with only you, Anzu. And, should we both die, even if it is minutes from now, I want to die your husband and be your husband throughout eternity." Atemu's voice was almost dark with the intensity of his emotions behind the words.

Anzu smiled at him and nodded. She pulled his head back down to hers and kissed him again. Her eyes closed once again, not seeing the bandaged arms still seeping blood or the strange atmosphere forming over them. Atemu was too lost in her to feel with his peripheral senses, returning kisses with equal abandonment.

Breaking the kiss just long enough to exclaim to him, Anzu said, "Yes, yes, let me be your wife now and forever!"

* * *

**A/N: We are not over yet! I estimate another 7-10 chapters to write. The next chapter can _sorta_ be skipped, I don't mind revealing that there's some serious ... consummation.  
**

**As an aside, if you would like to see the image that started this story in my head, check my profile for a link under the Ghosts section.  
**


	30. Consummated

Anzu laughed lightly. "I suppose it is silly of us with..." Her voice trailed off, she didn't want to bring up dark topics again. Atemu looked at her slightly confused. "Marrying one another, I mean. I don't suppose it is simple as just saying it."

He smiled, she thought her heart would melt with the beauty of seeing his true smile, and countered her statement. "Only has the modern age made it so complex with their laws and papers, pomp and ceremony. Yes, even in my time, a Pharaoh's wedding would be marked by banquets and lavish ceremonies, but... it was really simple in the end."

"How simple?" Anzu asked him, disbelief creeping into her voice. She figured that ceremonies had decreased since ancient times.

His fingertips caressed her cheek and lower lip before making their way to her neck, just over her pulse point. Desire glazed over Anzu's dark blue eyes, and her eyelids were half-lidded. Atemu couldn't help the twitch of his grin.

"In my time, all that it required was that the woman move into the man's home and share his bed with him."

A blush added a rosy sheen to Anzu's cheeks as the implications of what he said dawned on her. "Oh..." was all she could reply with. She couldn't deny the warmth that moved through her that had nothing to do with her fever.

Atemu held her there in his arms, observing the myriad emotions that sparked across her eyes. He suddenly felt that maybe he was being selfish. She had been on an audacious journey, was wounded, and had given her all to bring him here for her final moments. However, the feel of her body against his was becoming too much for him to handle. He could feel his blood racing beneath his veins, and the only thing he wanted was to drown in her.

"Anzu..." He whispered her reverently, with wonder that she was his.

Bestowing featherlight kisses to her cheeks and around the corners of his eyes, he also caressed her back and hips. His sure hands caused Anzu's mind to dissolve all thought and leave behind only sensation and emotion. She moaned softly in pleasure at his touch, and her head fell back on her shoulder. She looked up at Atemu through her lashes and couldn't help thinking that he was beyond handsome, beyond beautiful to her.

"I..." Atemu whispered, "I would love nothing more than to consummate ourselves to one another, here, now... but your wounds."

Stroking his check with her fingers and tracing the line of his lips with her thumb, Anzu shook her head. "They do not bother me so much now that you are here."

He was quiet, uncertain what he should say. If it had been the past, it would have been easy, but Anzu was born of this modern world. Without realizing it, his arms had tightened around her and his heart had begun to race again.

"Atemu, make love to me. Make love to me while we have this stolen time, please." She did not beg, there was no need for her. Anzu simply stated what they were both thinking, but she had taken the initiative to move forward and heedless of her own limitations.

Slipping one arm under her knees, Atemu picked her up and carried out of the sarcophagus room and into the main chamber just on the other side of the golden archway. Together, they went up the steps of the dais where he placed her upon the golden altar. Kissing her lips quickly, he dashed to over where fine cloth and pillows had been stored. Anything that had been left outside had long since become brittle and worn away over time. Instead he found a bronze knife and used this to help break the seals of chests and casks that might have cloth in them. Finding a cache of yellowed linen, he grabbed the bundle and carried it back to where Anzu was waiting, tossing aside the blade.

It was almost amusing to watch him smooth the material over the golden surface behind her. Anzu could see a hint of apology in his eyes when he turned back to her.

"Another place, and only the softest of feathers and the finest silk I would have for you, my beloved," he told her, his hand lingering over the aged cloth.

She gave him a gentle smile and shrugged. "It doesn't matter, so long as I am with you."

He walked back around the altar to her and situated himself between her knees. Atemu ran his hands along her sides and kissed her neck and shoulder. He found a spot between the two that made her gasp and sucked at that arch until he made her cry out in pleasure from it, marking her skin. It was fascinating to him that he was real, and he was real because of her. He planned to make as much use of this time they had together.

Anzu's back had arched from his ministrations upon her. She pressed her breasts against his chest as he pulled her tighter against him. Feeling her body leaning backward, she pulled her arms around his neck and could see her fresh dark blood staining the make-shift bandages he had wrapped around them. She ignored this and clung tighter to him as he began to lay her back upon the altar.

Turning her around so she lay supine on the cloth-covered surface, he ran his fingers from the tips of her ears down across her sternum, over her stomach, to her legs. He ignored the bruising from her scorpion sting. Her imperfections at this moment meant nothing, his eyes were shining with the sight of her whole being before him. He watched as her breath caught between her parted lips, her shining blue eyes darkening with passion for him.

Anzu was nervous, but she had never felt so inflamed inside before. She had never done anything like this before in her life. Kisses here and there but to give herself fully to another, even if they considered themselves husband and wife was a wholly different matter. She tried not to think on if he had done this before, it was not for her to linger on his past just as he had forgiven her for her own transgressions. She worried if there was enough time, but that thought was quickly forgotten when she felt his lips upon hers again.

His hands now stroked the curves of her breasts, fingertips running over her hardening nipples. Every time her brushed the nubs, she would gasp against his lips. With his thumb and forefinger, Atemu grasped each one and lightly pinched them. A satisfying cry of need came against his lips as her entire body bucked upward.

She was stroking his back and was becoming frustrated by the cloth of his cloak and linen of his smock. Anzu slipped her hands through the sides to find his smooth, hard flesh. Her nails scraped down his back and along his rib line, and she smiled against his lips when he growled in the back of his throat. She grabbed at his cloak clasp trying to untie the voluminous material off his body. He reached between her grasping hands to snap the lock, and the heavy midnight blue material fell from his shoulders to the floor.

Atemu was raining kisses that felt like fire along her bare neck and upper chest, the linen of her own clothing creating a barrier to his access. She could feel him bundling the cloth in his hands just over her heart, and then she heard the ripping sensation as he tore the dress from neckline to hem. Anzu's desire heavy eyes looked up at him and could see nothing but his heart shining through as he took in her bare body before him.

Grabbing her slender wrists with one hand, he pulled her arms up over her head and lavished is tongue across her bare skin. He couldn't get enough of her taste and scent. She was as sweet as her namesake. His mouth latched onto her breast, and he pulled the nipple deeper into his mouth as he suckled her. With his free hand, he dipped along her lower abdomen and teased her pubic mound with deft strokes.

She was lost in the need to grasp and feel Atemu's bare skin, and she wiggled a single hand free from being bound by him. Reaching at his waist, she found his jeweled belt and sought out the clasp. Her hand instead brushed over his concealed erection. Anzu felt him stiffen and stop moving, stop breathing. Feeling emboldened, she pulled the fabric up enough to slip her hand inside his clothing. Her fingertips brushed over his swollen member.

Moaning from her touch, Atemu switched from one breast to the other and he moved the hand over her pubic bone lower, just teasing the soft flesh there. It felt like there was a current when the pads of his fingers barely caressed her. Anzu stroked down the length of his cock and then wrapped her hand around it. He nipped her nipple with his teeth, and she felt his fingers plunge into her moisture-slicked vaginal lips. Crying out, Anzu grasped him tighter with her hand as her other arm struggled against his grasp.

Something came unhinged in Atemu at her pull on his erection. Letting go of the hand he had used to hold her down, he pulled her upright again. He plunged his tongue deep into her mouth and their teeth clinked together with the force of the kiss. They devoured one another's mouth, and his finger sought out the little nub of her clitoris. He could feel the altar digging into his upper thighs as Anzu continued to stroke his penis. Her bare breasts were crushed against his cloth-covered chest.

He found the bundle of nerves and pressed his wet finger against it. Atemu knew he had the right spot when Anzu released her hold of him and arched back in his arm. He continued to tease and stroke her, drawing out more impassioned cries for his lover. Fire was centered over her core, and she could feel it spreading outward through her whole body. It felt like her muscles were spasming and that she would die from it. She felt her legs clamp together over his arm as he continued to torture her with that single fingertip.

Anzu came undone when all the tension built into a crescendo, and she screamed out Atemu's name in orgasm. Like a harpy, she was clawing into his chest, seeking to remove the barriers to her. Material was ripping beneath her hands, and her nails triumphantly scratched down his chest. She heard him hiss in both pleasure and pain as she pulled at him. Her tongue darted out from her lips, and she licked at the salty taste of his skin laced with a fine trace of blood from her scratches. She felt his hands leave her long enough for a heavy gold belt to fall to the floor with a clang, and then they were back.

She was pulling at his tunic and he let go of her so she could pull it off of him. Tattered material joined the shreds of fabric from her dress that was being thrown off the altar as well and joined the belt on the ground. His elaborate headdress remained, but thus far had not proven a hindrance to the couple. Atemu joined her on the altar, fitting himself between her legs as his body crushed hers beneath him. Unencumbered flesh touched flesh, and they intertwined the fingers of both hands with their match.

He looked down at her, his violet eyes having turned dark crimson from his passion, but still with all the love in the world reflecting there. Her own blue eyes were sapphires and hazy from need and his touch. His bare chest rose and fell over her, her pale hands were running over the muscles and caressing the darker flesh.

"Anzu, are you sure you want this? That you want this with me?" He panted. She could hear him holding himself back.

She raised her knees up, her thighs pressing against the sides of his waist and released one hand to reach down between them. Anzu could feel the heat of their bodies there as her fingers sought his erection. He was poised just outside of her, and her hand could feel her own slick wetness. She wrapped her hand around his cock and pulled him slightly closer, the head of his penis pressed against her vagina. A small part of her was scared that it would hurt when he entered her, but she knew he would do everything he could to not cause her any pain. She twisted her hips slightly upward and felt the head push deeper into her.

Atemu's arms that were on either side of Anzu's head began to shake. He wanted nothing more than to feel himself wrapped by her tightness, to plunge into her body with abandon. For him, it had been thousands of years since a moment like this, and then just a concubine ordered to teach him. For her, it was her first time, he could tell by her hesitancy. He couldn't let himself forget that, or he could really hurt her.

However, she was making it difficult for him to keep control. He could feel the tips of her fingers caressing his balls as he stayed poised over her. He reached down with his hand and pulled her hand out of between them. He then pulled that arm so it was draped over his neck and she responded by moving her other arm as well. She held him there as his free hand caressed her breast and lightly pinched her nipple. He then moved that hand under her back and lifted her slightly.

Gazing into his eyes, afraid to close her own, Anzu poured all her heart into her words. "I love you, Atemu."

His lips descended to meet hers once again as he hungrily kissed her, taking out on them what he was afraid to take out on her lower body just yet. Atemu's tongue wrapped around hers as they tasted of one another. She felt him slowly press a bit deeper inside of her with his cock until it came upon a barrier, her hymen.

Ending the kiss with a series of licks upon her lips and throat, Atemu whispered in her ear, "I love you, Anzu."

She felt him push into her and felt the pain of that small piece of flesh being sundered. Her legs tightened around him unconsciously and he held himself very still within her. Tears welled up in her eyes and fell down her cheeks. He kissed each salty one away and began to kiss her lips again, slowly but without diminished hunger for her. He continued this while he waited for her to signal that he could move again.

His penis twitched slightly as he waited for what he was looking for and it came, a tightening of her inner walls that pulled him in imperceptibly deeper. Sweat had broken out on both of their bodies, and he continued to fight the desire to rapidly increase his pace. He simply allowed himself to sink deeper within her tight body until the head of his cock felt the resistance of her cervix.

As he slowly pulled back out, he lavished his attention on her breasts. He bestowed nips and licks over each peaked nub as he suckled them. Anzu felt her body arching up to him. It felt strange to feel him so deep inside of her. She felt stretched and pulled at once, but it felt like her own puzzle had been solved with the final piece in place. She had returned his kisses with equal abandon and currently was running her fingers through his hair. She had been starving for this all her life she realized. Trembles of pleasure rippled through her core and she moaned against him.

Her fingers ran through his hair as she clung to him. His slow movements within her body were driving her crazy it seemed. She needed more from him, needed him deeper in her. Anzu didn't want to know where she ended and he began anymore.

Gasping, feeling out of control, she begged, "Atemu... deeper... please... I... need..."

Atemu plunged back into her, faster in his pace as he sought out her core and going as deep as he could within her. Anzu cried out for more, and he pulled her slightly upward with the hand under her back as he thrust harder and faster into her, trying to give her everything she was begging for and more. Her body felt as if it had been made for him, so perfectly did she fit around him and take him completely.

"Oh Gods... Anzu..." He moaned this between breaths.

She could feel the force of him pushing her back bit by bit on the cloth-covered altar. Something was growing inside of her, a powerful build-up of energy that she thought might drive her mad if it were to explode. It was similar to when Atemu had pressed his fingers there, but different, stronger, and more consuming. Her hands scratched down his back, and she grasped the hard muscles of his buttocks and pulled him tighter against her.

He could feel himself coming closer to orgasm as he rhythmically pounded into Anzu. Sweat was pouring from their pores for their exertions, and her sweet moans drove him further into her. Capturing her mouth in another kiss, they clung to one another as they rocked together.

Breaking the kiss, he murmured in her ear, "Anzu... I'm close to coming... I can't..."

"Don't hold back," she gasped back to him.

His pace became faster and more erratic as he sought release for them both. His pubic bone rubbed against her clitoris with each thrust of his cock inside of her. They were chasing the same goal of completion with one another, and in a spark of light only they could see, it came as Anzu screamed out Atemu's name. His own shout came moments into her scream as he felt himself ejaculate within her. He collapsed upon her, still moving, but slowly, inside her. Finally, his movements came to a stop, and he lay upon her breasts. They both were panting heavily.

Anzu was the first to say anything. "Atemu, I never knew..."

"Neither did I," he responded.

She wrapped her arms tightly around him and did not notice the trickles of blood running from her wounds onto his sweat-soaked back. They both had forgotten about her wounded leg. On the other side of the room, two women appeared from within what appeared to be a mirage of heated air. Right now, the only thing they knew was each other and that was enough.


	31. Changed

Striding forward, the two Goddess took vigil at the head and foot of the altar where Anzu and Atemu laid within one another's arms, drowsily content from their lovemaking. Anzu laid within the crook of his arm as he drew lazy circles on her stomach with his fingertip. Their sweat was slowly drying from their skin, and the scent of their sex hung heavy in the air around them.

A sharp pain began to take shape within Anzu's heart. With each beat, it pulsed through her body and she gasped sharply with it. Atemu sat up on his elbow and looked into her suddenly pain-filled eyes.

"Anzu...?" He questioned her, frightened of what this might portend.

She couldn't respond, it was like her jaw had been locked and her body began to spasm underneath him. Atemu sat up and pulled her into his lap, holding on to her tightly as the seizure came and then finally left her. Anzu laid in his arms panting from the pain she had just experienced, her heart still constricting painfully. Tears filled her eyes and gushed over her cheeks, the droplets falling onto his lap. She found herself suddenly very afraid of dying now that she was facing it head on.

"Little Brother." Aset's voice carried from the foot of the altar. "Her time of life is fast ending."

Both glanced up at the voice, the lovers realized they were completely naked and under the steadfast gaze of the two Goddesses. Pulling her closer to him to conceal her body from them, Atemu took lead role in the situation. Anzu tucked her head under his chin, her hands pressed against his chest. Her breathing had become rapid and shallow, another seizure was threatening her.

Ma'at spoke next, "Aset speaks true, Pharaoh Atemu."

His eyes glowed with anger at what he knew would come, was coming. "Then, pray tell, why are You here?"

"To help," Aset said simply and shrugged. "Of course, if you do not want Our assistance..."

At that moment, Anzu convulsed as the poison flowed through her heart and brain. Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head, and a light tracing of foam appeared on her lips. Atemu cried out in anguish at seeing her in such a state and held her tighter in his arms until it subsided once again.

Shaking his head in denial at Anzu's distress. "This... this cannot happen, please, anything. Tell me what I must do to save her."

Walking forward, the beautiful Ma'at approached from the head of the altar to face the couple.

"There is nothing that can be done to keep her alive."

Atemu wanted to scream in rage at them. They dangle a carrot and then pull it away. Did they enjoy torturing humans? How could they even hint that they could help?

Aset added, "There is nothing that can keep her living, but there is still much to be done to keep her soul safe, Pharaoh."

He blinked, he didn't understand. She would of course be in the Lands of Aaru once she died. He stated this.

"I cannot weigh her heart against My feather without her prepared," Ma'at told him.

"And Inpu is seeking out who has broke the laws of His realm and pulled a spirit out. He does not yet know it was you." Aset looked at him, Her black eyes heavy with the implications of Her words. "You know very well how He already feels about you and what you did with the Millennium Puzzle. That was also a violation of His sphere of influence. You knew that giving the key to this mortal would anger Him, you know that soon His father will be involved."

Shrugging Her shoulders, Aset added, "To be honest, I didn't expect this to happen."

"Is that why You are here, Aset? To bear witness that my wife was able to perform some part of the magic that You had once invoked." He had dismissed formalities in the growing danger of Anzu's death.

"Yes, and no," She said, "I am greatly surprised at how strongly you were pulled into this world with such limited resources and sacrifices. Your hearts must be strong indeed. Much like Mine and Asar's. However, in true answer to your question, I have secured from My Husband safety for her should she pass through Tuat to Aaru."

Confused, Atemu asked, "Would Inpu prevent her passage?"

Ma'at this time answered. "Yes, He would. His Father will also naturally support His bid in this. Your wife has become a pendulum that hinges upon Divine assistance."

"What can I do to help her? What can be done?" He asked, desperation rising in his voice.

Both Goddess began to fade slightly, and he feared that he would not hear their answers.

Aset spoke again, "I will use My power to cloud you and her from Inpu's eye, but it will not last forever. Your time is limited as well for the magic Anzu has wrought will begin to unravel at her last breaths, though there will be still time."

"If you can prepare her quickly enough once she has passed, I will weigh her heart against My feather. Once she has been judged fitting to go to Aaru, Inpu will not be able to deny it," Ma'at told him.

Both Goddesses vanished like they had never been there. However, Atemu did not have time to even think about Them or Their words at this moment, another seizure was overcoming Anzu and she cried out from it. He rocked her in his arms as tears spilled down his cheeks to coat her hair like raindrops. Not even an hour ago, he had thought his heart might burst from joy and now, sorrow threatened its wholeness.

Trying to speak, Anzu finally managed to say to him, "Atemu... what did they mean... by preparing me?"

Choking on the words, it took him several starts before he could respond. "They mean... They mean the ritual of mummification. I have to prepare your body and spirit so they can judge you. Death... is not easy."

"Atemu..." Anzu whispered, "I'm so sorry." She began to cry silently.

Hugging her tightly in his arms, he murmured into her hair, "No, no, don't be sorry. We will find a way."

He laid gentle kisses on her forehead as she spoke again. "I'm scared."

"I'm not leaving. I won't let you go, in this life or the next." He avowed to her.

"Tell me a story... anything..." Anzu sounded almost sleepy, it made him want to cry even more.

"Of course," he began, and he unconsciously rocked her in his arms, "When I first found myself with true awareness again, I had no memories of my time as Pharaoh. I remember when I first manifested through Yugi when you were in danger that I was responding to his fear for you. I felt a surge of possessiveness that I didn't understand. At the time, I assumed it was my partner's feelings for you. So, I encouraged him to pursue you. I was just his other self after all, a manifestation and nothing more.

"I was so very wrong. On those few dates that we had went out on and you were trying to bring me out to confirm if I was a part of Yugi or not, I have to admit I was somewhat concerned when you put yourself in danger at the amusement park. However, you didn't do that particular one willingly. My precious Anzu... I was always saving you, wasn't I?"

She chuckled light against his warm chest, his heartbeat was soothing to her ears, and managed to whisper back to him, "Yeah, I suppose I do have a knack for being at the wrong place at the right time."

He couldn't help his own laugh. "You? Never."

"I was surprised when Yugi willingly set us up on the one date where I got to watch you dance at the arcade. You were so strong and beautiful. I didn't quite understand the rules of what you were doing, but you were still amazing. When that jerk tried to force his hand with you, even after cheating on the game, I was pleased that I got to challenge him.

"However, the most important part of that date, and what stays in my mind forever, was that you gave me the strength I needed to find out who I really was. Even if that meant everything would change."

He smiled down at her, her eyes were half-lidded. Tremors were constantly running through her body now, but she was no longer crying out in pain from them. Atemu continued to stare at her face, so lovely in its near peacefulness.

"You changed me, Anzu. I was a man without a past, but you gave me a chance of a future, regardless. When my heart would turn to ice, you were there to stay my hand and melt it. I owed you so much and never got a chance to really tell you everything I thought. As time went on, as I got to know you outside of Yugi's idolizations of you, I saw a woman so beautiful and strong and absolutely deserving of such worship.

"I never tried to pursue you, because I never thought I could offer you what I felt you needed. I have since learned that what I thought was incorrect and presumptuous of me. I suppose, it is natural for me to have one idea and to stick with it, even when I don't want to do so."

A ghost of a smile touched her lips. He caressed Anzu's cheek.

"I am too lucky to have your love, Anzu. I am too blessed by what you have given me." His voice was starting to choke up, sorrow seizing at his throat.

She opened her eyes, large, beautiful sapphire blue eyes and they shined with their own inner light. Precious jewels in their own right, they gazed upon him with all the love of her heart.

"We are... both... very lucky... I am... blessed... by you... as well." Her voice came even more softly, with much difficulty. She closed her eyes.

"Anzu!" Atemu cried out. He could feel the heat of her body rapidly draining away from her.

"I love you, Atemu, my husband." Her voice was a sibilant sigh and whisper, and her last declaration took with it all of her remaining breath.

Anzu's heart had stilled in its beating.

Anzu died in Atemu's arms.

Above ground, the noonday sun hung over all of Egypt but dark clouds gathered suddenly at the Valley of the Kings and released a torrent of rain upon the region. Researchers ran back to vans and buses, lest there be a mudslide or other problem. Farmers in Luxor at duty on their land raced back into their homes, chatting animatedly with their wives over the strange weather. All the locals commented on how strange it felt, and that there seemed to be a sad emotion emanating from the unexpected storm.

Just entering the outskirts of Luxor, the Ishutarus stopped in the middle of the road and pulled off to the side. Rishid had started crying suddenly, not understanding where the emotion was coming from. Ishizu opened the passenger door and exited the vehicle. She lifted her head upward toward the sky, the rain drops mingling with her own tears. Long had she lost her gift of sight when she passed on the Millennium Eye, but she still could sense things. This was sorrow. This was related to Anzu.

Mariku exited as well, his older brother was inconsolable in his grief, and he felt trapped by the vehicle. He could feel his own sadness rising in his heart as well. He joined his sister in looking up at the sky. Heaviness seemed to fill his emotions.

"Ishizu," he said to her, turning to look at her with sad eyes, "This has to do with Anzu, doesn't it?"

She could only nod. He wrapped his arms around her, both of them becoming soaked as they stood under the shower of Nature's tears. Mariku thought in his heart it was best they not tell Rishid right away.

Ishizu had not wanted this to happen to Anzu. Yes, she had been upset when she showed up with the Millennium Tome, but she believed when she saw the Pharaoh with her own eyes. She was frightened by what that book could do to a person and had hoped by helping with the translation, that the fear it would have provoked would have been enough to steer from the path it could lead someone down. Anzu was too much like the Pharaoh. When either one was set to a task, they followed it through to the end.

"Attention passengers, the Corporation is reporting that a sudden rainstorm has started in Luxor. The original forecast of sunny skies has been revised. It does not appear to be causing any flight delaying turbulence at this time, but we will know more once we approach Egypt. Thank you." Kaiba's pilot had made the sudden announcement at the same moment that the girls had burst into tears.

Kaiba couldn't understand what was happening to all of them. After the alarm that they all had earlier, which no one had yet figured out the source, now the girls were crying. He felt a sense of profound loss he didn't understand either. This was confusing.

"Does... does anyone feel like they just lost someone?" Bakura was the first to speak up about the feeling. "Is this why you girls are crying?"

Rebecca was sobbing into Yugi's shoulder while across the aisle Hondo was trying to console a weeping Shizuka. Mai had tears running down her eyes, but Jonouchi was holding onto her hand tightly.

"It feels like..." Mai said softly, "Like it would feel like if I had lost a family member or Jonouchi again."

Many agreed and Kaiba noticed that Mokuba had reached out to touch him. He tried not to smirk as he normally would have at such a display of emotion, because he was having the same urge to confirm that his brother was still at his side and not gone as well.

It was just before dawn in New York, and the lights of the city were slowly shutting off to make way for the brightness of day. Hustlers and gang-bangers made their way from their streets to noisy tenements, and working staff of many restaurants and hotels hopped on buses and subways to make their way to work. Hours had shifted, and the people of the night had ended what they considered their time of activity. This was now the time of the daywalker, the corporations, and so-called good folk of the city.

However, at that hour by coincidence, a ghastly presence had made itself known in Mikala's apartment. Towering almost seven feet in height, the Egyptian God stared her down. At the moment, the only thing keeping Him from getting to her was the barrier that the woman had erected. His eyes within his jackal head glowed red from anger that was so strong, it was palatable in the room. He carried a _was _scepter that was currently illuminated with the same color red as his eyes. A beam of energy was striking against Mikala's black salt barrier form the forked end of the base.

"Tell Me who has Aset's Tome!" He shouted this at a frightened Mikala.

She countered by continuing her unceasing chant to the Mother Goddess Aset and Truth Goddess Ma'at. Mikala knew that if she stopped, that the salt protecting her would fail. It glowed a faint blue that would pulsate with the rhythm of her words. Her hands clutched at her ankh medallion.

"I am Inpu, God of the Underworld, and yet, you a mortal woman dares to defy Me," he continued in his rage, "Long ago, Re forced Me to share safe journey through Tuat to Aaru and the secrets of life with that bitch Aset so She could save Asar. I will not have the Dead escaping back to the mortal plane again! This abomination on My realm will not be tolerated!"

Mikala figured that Anzu must have used the Millennium Tome to call to Pharaoh Atemu. She knew the book had been considered dangerous, and indeed it was, but she never realized that it had been penned by the Mother Goddess, Herself. What was done, was done and there was nothing that could change it. She had been sure that the text needed to go to Anzu.

She then heard the jackal god beginning to laugh at her. "Your bloodline has already been decimated by My hand, foolish woman. If you defy Me, I can promise you that there will be no eternal rest for your kith and kin, but there will be damnation and torture."

Mikala tried not to listen to Him. He was lying, she would have known if her family had been harmed. Squeezing her eyes shut, the Algerian woman kept chanting even though her throat had become raw and dry from it.

"Look, woman, look upon what has happened to your family as I sought out the one who has attempted to thwart My domain!"

Inpu threw His arm back and images began to take shape in the predawn light of her apartment. Mikala felt compelled to open her eyes, and the sight of her father hanging from the rafters of his home filled her view. Blood dripped from long slashes made into his body, and the bloody gore dripped down onto the remains of her mother who was equally savaged. Quickly replacing it was an image of her grandmother, still in her wheelchair, but her head had been severed from her body. Orderlies were vomiting in the corner of her room, not understanding how this could happen to the woman that had been in their charge. Cousins, aunts, uncles, myriad extended family members and those she never knew but shared similar looks all flashed across in states of murder and death.

"I have done this to your line trying to seek out who had the tome last. They all either claimed no knowledge or lied to Me. However, blood is thick and its scent is unmistakable. It was only a matter of time for me to find you." His voice was cruel and sharp as any well-honed blade.

Something suddenly broke in Mikala's heart. She could feel like a great sorrow had manifested in the world. She knew the signature of it. Without even realizing what she was doing, she broke her incantation.

"Anzu!" She cried out to herself as the source of the emotional anomaly made itself known to her heart.

Seizing the opportunity, Inpu leaped over the fallen barrier and scattered the black salt. Mikala cried out in pain and fear as he grabbed her by her neck and slammed her into the wall behind her. He began to apply pressure to her trachea.

"Is that who violated My domain?" The God snarled at Mikala.

Mikala had given up that she would make it when He appeared, she had simply bought herself time. Taking that moment, she spit into the God's jackal face.

"I will never tell you!"

It was her last sentence as he crushed her windpipe beneath His powerful grasp. However, He had seen enough in her mind to form a name and a point of searching. He tried to concentrate on it, to will Himself to it, but found the path blocked. Something was blocking Him from seeing this interloper of Divine Will. It fueled His anger and He was not His Father's son for nothing. He took His rage out on the barely alive Mikala. Days later when her body was discovered by police, many of the hardened men of the force became ill at the sheer carnage and blood that coated every surface of her bedroom.

As Inpu faded from the New York apartment, he growled a single name, "Anzu Mazaki." He had every intent of destroying this person in this life and the next.

Under the sandy plains of Egypt and deep within his own tomb, Atemu was laying out Anzu's body upon the altar they had made love on only a short time ago. He had removed the linen they had laid on and shredded it into long thin pieces. More linen had joined this into a large heap nearby. Sharp tools and strange, medical-looking instruments were laid out along one side of her body. He had bowed his head and began to pray in his native tongue for strength.

Somewhere, unknown to even a God like Inpu, Anzu floated within a black field of emptiness. A silvery cord was attached at her solar plexus and seemed to go on without end through this space. She had curled up in a fetal position, and it almost seemed like she was surrounded by umbilical fluid. Anzu slowly turned over and over and with no knowledge of where she was.

She continued to sleep.


	32. Prepared

Ishizu and her family made it to the sprawling archaeological complex that was housed just outside the Valley of the Kings. They had calmed themselves and forced the continuation of the journey. It had been a long nearly eight hour drive, and they were still expecting the contingent from Japan to arrive in five hours. Instead of resting, they were going to make sure all was prepared as Ishizu had dictated. Rishid and Mariku choose to remain in the car while she conducted this business, and she assured them it would not take her very long.

Entering the rain-soaked tan building, Ishizu strode pass clerks who looked up suddenly at the confident walk of the Egyptian woman. A secretary tried to grab her attention as she simply opened and walked through the door marked "President".

A large-bellied British gentleman turned from gazing out the window at the storm outside and granted Ishizu a rare and jovial smile. He clapped his hands together and met her halfway into the office.

"Miss Ishutaru, it is good, very good to see you again." He warmly said to her. He had owed his career to her insight and amazing knowledge of the Ancient Egyptian language and culture.

She responded with a tight-lipped smile. "Thank you, it is good to see you again, Mister Blackman. I wish it was on a more leisurely schedule."

He nodded and offered her a seat at the desk, joining her after setting a pot of water to boil. "Yes, you said there was business in regards to the Eighteenth Dynasty Nameless Pharaoh? The one with the... ah tricky tomb."

She reached out and placed her hand over his suddenly. "Robert, in the few years we have known each other, since I was a teenager and you let me help you so I could help my family, I have never played games with you. Therefore, what I may even hint at may seem too hard to believe and the things of legend."

Robert looked surprised. In all the years he had known Ishizu, she very rarely used his given name. He could count twice offhand. She had told him some fantastic tales in the past, but she was always proven sure and true in the end. He covered her slender hand with his other, larger calloused one.

"Go on," he bade her, intrigued by what she may say next.

"Something is happening out there right now that is extremely dangerous. It could be something that we never actually see, but I need to ask you to evacuate the Valley immediately. Claim that the government is requesting it due to the rain or whatever you like. The tourists are already sequestrated away due to the terrorist attack, but the researchers are still out there."

His green eyes blinked. He couldn't believe what he just heard. "But... Ishizu, I thought you said you were bringing a group out here..."

"I am." She removed her hand from his and sat back.

Ishizu looked out the window, observing the pouring rain. Almost to herself, but loud enough for her companion to hear, she said, "We know not what we will find next."

Robert accepted this, she had never led him astray in the years they had known each other. The tea kettle began to shrilly whistle.

Not far from where they sat, Atemu was deep underground in his tomb. Everything he needed had been stored by his people thousands of years ago and was well-preserved by the arid climate. How was he to perform a service that normally took just over two months in the span of hours, he did not know. He could only do his best and hope that it would be sufficient to the Gods watching this. Perhaps, he had power here in this form like he did as a spirit. He would be careful though not to squander it if it was so.

A bowl of water blended with natron that he had found was set next to Anzu, and he dipped fresh clean rags into it. Using these, he washed all the blood and grit from her body until she was completely cleansed. He spared no inch of her in this process. It was difficult for him. He could imagine that he would have bathed her in scented baths had things been different. He dried her and the altar table completely before moving toward the next step. During this entire time, he chanted low with each process, remembering the words of the priests from his time.

Now would come the part that he dreaded, because it would cement in his mind her death. He needed to remove her sacred organs and clean out the unnecessary ones as his people saw it. When he had searched the tomb, he had found no Jars of Embalming. Instead he had taken his own jars which contained parts of his body and set them to the side. He would break their seals and add Anzu's to them, before resealing them once more.

A lamp burned low next to his sharp tools of necessity. His hand hovered over these, and he prayed silently once more for the strength needed to ensure Anzu went via the way toward Aaru. It was the only way available to them that would allow them to be together. He also prayed for her to be safe from the wraths of Inpu and Seketh. His gamble was blowing up in his face. She never told him what the spells said, or he probably would have done what he could to stop her from her mad quest. However, then, they would have not had the moment that was worth every bit of his soul.

Taking a sharp scalpel-like knife, he carefully cut a line from sternum to pubic bone as he chanted the ancient mummification spells. During the course of his preparation and bathing of her body, the blood had settled, so the blood did not gush but simply trickle a small amount. He cut away the vessels, that clung to the shining liver, intestines, stomach, and lungs. Atemu was careful to not damage the heart. In his beliefs this was the most important part of the body and said to house all thought and emotion, a repository for the ka and ba of a person.

Carefully, he pulled the viscera from her body and laid each one in a row in front of him. These were also washed in natron, then anointed with oils he had gathered, and wrapped in linen. Each organ had a specific jar that they would be placed in. These jars were blessed to the sons of Haru and protected by four Goddesses, including Aset. Her wrapped lungs were placed in the jar dedicated to the north, stomach placed in the east, her liver deigned to the south, and her intestines consigned to the west. After resealing the jars with her added organs, Atemu rubbed natron throughout the inside Anzu's body.

His hand caressed her forehead, even in death she was so beautiful. He thought that perhaps it was best that he be doing this service to her. Opening the way to the underworld was a sacred duty, and even if there had been little choice in the matter, if faced with the same he would still do this for her. However, now would come one of the more unsavory parts. Atemu lifted a long, thin, barbed tool of bronze. It would need to be heated to a high temperature in order to help liquefy the brains for removal. He didn't have any heat sources strong enough for the task.

Rubbing his hand through the back of his hair, he sighed. A task that took priests months, and he only had hours. Maybe less time than that. He didn't know. Aset had stated that the power Anzu invoked would begin to fade after her death. It had been about two hours since she died. He could still breathe and feel his heart beating, and these things were not the result of a force of habit. Atemu slammed his fist into the filigreed altar. Was he completely at the whim of the Divine in this matter?

A voice whispered into his ear, the voice of his father and born of memory, "Pharaoh is a God."

His hand suddenly opened, his fingers splayed out in front of him on the golden surface.

"Pharaoh is a God," his mind repeated in his father's voice.

"I am a God, kith and kin to Ma'at and born of the line going back to Re. I may not be able to control the dead or heal the sick, but I do have power here. It is not just a memory or dream!"

Not knowing how much would be fueled by Anzu sacrifice, he decided he would proceed cautiously with this newfound belief. Grasping the poker once again, Atemu stared at it and a violet glow appeared in his eyes and was reflected against the bronze in his hand. Its tip began to glow bright red from heat.

Inpu's rampage of blood was not finding succor as He had thus far been unsuccessful in locating Anzu Mazaki in the region where the Algerian witch resided. He recalled she had been chanting to Aset and Ma'at for protection. If the two Goddesses were involved in this breech of His realm, it could be a possible source for why He could not find this person. He would have to call upon one who was greater than Himself. He would have to summon His Father, Setekh, God of Chaos and Night.

Summoning Setekh was not as simple as saying it. Long punished by Asar and Aset for His role in their troubles, regardless if They had stolen the secrets of Death from His son, rituals to bring Him into the living world were gruesome for a reason. It was hoped that by making them such, mortals would be less likely to perform them. Unfortunately, His son did not care how much mortal blood would need to be spilled to get what He wanted done.

Walking along a building's edge, Inpu decided he would find His way to this Anzu by destroying any living being that he or she had been close to in order to summon His father. Sniffing upon the air, He flattened His ears as He tried to find a signature of this person who was vexing Him on other living beings. Magic coursed through His veins, heightening His preternatural abilities. Images of blue eyes flashed in His mind from not far from where He was perched. The scent had almost the same strength as it was on the witch. Inpu stepped off the ledge and plunged back down into the city below.

Removing the source of mucous from Anzu had been more difficult than Atemu thought it would be; he would hate to think what it might have turned into had he not still had some power in this world. However, he felt that it drained his strength and there was still much to be done. His voice felt raw from the constant chanting and incantations that needed to be said over the body to prepare it. He knew he was making progress because a very faint glow had begun to emanate from her skin.

Atemu carefully stuffed several linen-wrapped parcels into her body cavity, each filled with sweet and bitter smelling herbs sacred to the process of mummification. Most importantly, each was saturated with resin and more natron. Taking a long needle and fine strip of cloth, he sewed the cuts he had made into her body to seal the bundles within her. Next came the oils that he rubbed onto every surface of her skin. Frankincense burned on small plates at each corner of the funerary altar and perfumed the air around them.

In his searches of this chamber of his tomb, he had found some of the original implements from his own mummification rites and it was fitting that these he used upon Anzu. These, too, were laid out in a line in front of her body where the sharper tools once had their place. Those had been returned into the altar itself in hidden drawers. Now, it had come to one of the more time-consuming tasks. He walked around to the other side and picked up the linen strips he had made before beginning this task. Closing his eyes, the barest hint of a violet glow seeping from between his lashes, linen from separate piles arose into the air seemingly of their own violation. Atemu and his ghostly swatches began to wrap Anzu's body.

Not far from the Valley of the Kings, Ishizu, Rishid, and Mariku were making the necessary arrangements to house their Japanese visitors who would be arriving in less than two hours. Mariku had been biting his tongue on questions he wanted to ask her. Rishid had already figured out what had happened and the reason for the deluge over Luxor. He had been silent ever since he had stopped crying in the car.

"Go into the hotel and check the rooms, I'll be fine here," Rishid said from behind the steering wheel. Ishizu had just snapped her phone shut from talking to the receptionist at the El Gezira.

"Are you going to be alright, Rishid?" Concern was evident in Ishizu's eyes, it was the first time he had spoken. Rain pattered down on the windshield of the car.

"It hardly ever rains. Especially during the summer." He continued to stare forward, his knuckles were white on the wheel.

Nodding, Ishizu glanced at Mariku, who also nodded, and they both exited. They ran through the rain into the hotel lobby, shaking the water out of their long hair. Both could hear everyone in the lobby chatting animatedly about the freak storm. Ignoring them, the pair approached the counter and introduced themselves.

"Yes, yes, we were just on the phone. We have two apartments that opened up. They can easily accommodate four adults in each, more if space concessions are allowed." The white-robed receptionist informed of them of this in a bright voice. A television in the background was reporting on sudden mudslides in the region as a result of the extended downpour.

"That will be fine for our purposes." Ishizu replied, thinking to herself if Kaiba didn't care to share space with them that he could easily take care of himself.

Getting the necessary directions to the two flats and keys, brother and sister exited and stood under the awning.

"Ishizu," Mariku finally said, "The length of this storm has already exceeded natural boundaries, how long will it continue?"

She shrugged. "As long as it must. The natural order has been interfered with and Kemet suffers for it."

He looked down, he knew he had played a part in what had sent Anzu here. "Will Anzu be safe?"

"You know as well as I what this portends."

"When will we tell them?" Mariku asked her, looking at the car again where Rishid waited. His eyes were dark with worry and a touch of fear.

"I don't know yet. We just need to get to the tomb and find her." Ishizu's voice came off sharp, and he tried not to flinch in response.

Frowning, she looked over at the car too. "Mariku, we all made a mistake. We all were so caught up in our roles to the Pharaoh. I made a mistake. You made a mistake. I should have been adamant on not having that book in our home and that Anzu should not have learned it. I should not have helped with the key, but I was so caught up in the mystery of it. Now, we may find the wrath of the Gods coming down on us."

Mariku touched her shoulder suddenly. "If it comes to it... I will fight my last breath for you both."

She reached around her chest to clasp his hand in return. "Hopefully, it will not come to that."

Turning to face him, Ishizu continued, "The old ones will have already felt that the source of this rain is not natural. Vigils will have already begun for those who still believe."

"I suppose that will have to be enough." He sighed and changed the subject. "We should get settled in the room and head toward the airport. Our companions will be arriving soon." Together, they walked back through the rain to their car and Rishid.

"What the hell is this!" A French-accented male voice shrieked as he was thrown into the darkened room. Ghosts of luminescence from busted neon lights and a few dozen lit candles on tables offered the only light. As his eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness, he realized that this was the Dancing Dolls strip club. However, the more pressing issue was the seven-foot tall demon-man standing over him. Several girls in various states of undress had shrieked when they appeared in the room. Moments ago, he had been in the campus library nursing a coffee and reading a book.

"Zach!" Could that be Professor Knowles? Zach looked up to see the professor running over to him. The behemoth that had brought him here had walked over toward the bar area.

Zach grabbed the older man's upper arms. "Professor, what is going on? What is that thing? Mon Dieu!! Are we going to die?!" He could hear his own voice sounding more and more girlish each moment as fear overtook him.

Looking around, he could recognize the dancers but most of the other people in this room he had no idea who they wore. One was a policewoman who was reciting her rosary over and over again in a corner. A thin reed of a man was just sitting in the middle of the floor, not moving and seemingly frozen stiff. Another person was a woman with hair that was still shining bright blond in the semi-darkness, she was surrounded by most of the dancers and was dressed the same as them. However, she seemed to be the unofficial leader of the moment. A fat creature of a man stood off to the side behind her and looked like someone who would sell his mother. Zach was sure that was the club's owner. Others appeared to be students like himself, except for a loud old woman who was holding tightly to a ball of stained fluff and rocking back and forth. He could see what she held was a very recently, very dead, and very bloody cat.

"Zach, listen to me," the professor was whispering sharply in his ear, "That …thing... that has us here is not a creature or monster. I know who that is."

Snapping back to the professor, Zach was bewildered. "Who is that?"

"It is Inpu, one of the Egyptian Gods of the Dead. We call him Anubis. He guards the path between this world, Tuat and Aaru. He is the son of Setekh, otherwise known as Set."

"What does he want with us? I don't even believe in Egyptian Gods. I'm Catholic!" He exclaimed back.

Scoffing, Professor Knowles smirked, "Well, believe in all the gods you want, but apparently the Egyptian Gods believe in you and we are in one's sights for something."

Glass shattered suddenly, and everyone in the room became silent, except for the granny rocking her dead kitty. She kept wailing to the Good Jesus to save them all from Satan. Red fire glowed within the depths of the jackal eyes of Inpu. Throwing His arm over the shards on the bar, they levitated into the air. For a moment, they stayed there and sparkled in the light of the few candles like so many snowflakes, and then, Inpu flung His hand toward the elderly woman. Sharp glass, some several inches in length, flew through the air at her and pierced her arms, face, eyes, and the corpse of her beloved cat. A gurgled scream came from her impaled throat, blood trickling from her mouth and eyes, before she slumped over and fell out of her chair. Cacophony broke out among the prisoners.

"Silence!" Inpu shouted to the throng of New Yorkers.

People had run to the doors, banging on them in a desperate attempt to get away from the bar. All doors had been sealed, and the way to the VIP room seemed to have a repelling force. Diamond discovered this the hard way as she lay on the floor. It felt like she had hit a wall, but nothing was there. She was keeping her eyes averted from the club's main entrance. Martin was there in the alcove, staring with sightless black eyes with his mouth slacked open. Blood stained the bouncer's starched white shirt around a large hole where the jackal-man had removed his heart. He had tried to protect the girls, he had always protected them when he could. If a girl didn't want a guy messing with her, Diamond recalled, all she had to do was tell Martin. Unless, of course, Anderson said different. Now, the gold caps would never shine when he smiled because he wasn't in that shell anymore. Shell, yeah. Diamond had to just keep telling herself that what she was looking at was just a shell.

Keeping her eyes on the man, monster, whatever He was, that was currently stalking about like He owned the place, Diamond crouched down lower in the corner. He had shown up about an hour ago and she could not understand a word He was saying. However, something in Her mind told her what He meant. It was so strange, but He was looking for some person named Anzu Mazaki. No one knew any Anzu Mazakis, and He insisted they were lying. He said He could smell it on them. Now, the only thing she could do was just stay where she was, watching and praying to a God she usually ignored.

Anyone that Anzu spent more than a few minutes around was in the room. She had generally kept to herself since she arrived in New York years ago. Therefore, there were not countless numbers trapped by Inpu. All total, around fifty people were trapped in the strip club with the rampaging God.

Snorting through His nose, Inpu sneered at the pale-skinned mortals that He had gathered. Even if they were not giving Him the information He needed, they would still have a purpose for calling to His father. Where He walked, they would try to scatter and hide. It was almost hilarious to watch them act like so many running ants. A few of the nubile women seemed useful enough for what He would need to call Setekh, but for now he was going to wait and try to glean information out of them about this Anzu Mazaki.

"All of you here, I will ask once more, do you know who Anzu Mazaki is? If you can offer me up information on this person's whereabouts, I will be happy to let you live." He had strode to the center of the room and made this announcement.

Zach jumped up. He wasn't going to die for Anzu, especially after the way she and that woman she knew had treated him. When this monster had asked him initially about her, he had been in too much of a shock to say yes. Not anymore. Professor Knowles claimed this was some god. Whatever, it didn't matter, all he knew was that he didn't want to be part of whatever this was.

"I know who Anzu Mazaki is!" Zach shouted, flinging his arms upward like an excited kindergarten child.

Inpu was upon him in minutes, grabbing him by his chin and lifting him upward. Zach gagged with the force of the pull, and his feet dangled a foot from the floor. Hot, fetid breath blasted him in the face from Inpu muzzle.

"And...?" The god waited for a reply, His fingers tightening ever so slightly on Zach's neck.

Ignoring the sad and disappointed eyes of Professor Knowles, Zach struggled to speak around the choke-hold. "She was a dancer here. They called her Geisha Girl."

Diamond gasped along with all the other dancers. She could see Anderson muttering about the revelation. She couldn't believe that GG was wrapped up with some monster. What the hell happened before she disappeared?

Zach clung to Inpu's hand, trying to fit his fingers in between the god's that had wrapped their way around his throat, but he kept talking. "She's some Japanese girl. I met her here and at my school. Professor Knowles knows her, too." He pointed to the professor nearby.

Apparently, Zach was not above throwing the elderly under the bus now. Diamond scowled at the Frenchman as her eyes looked between the trio.

"In your mind's eye, imagine what she looks like for me, and tell me where she is in this city," Inpu commanded of the man in His hand.

Closing his eyes, Zach tried to imagine everything he could remember of Anzu. He started with remembering her big blue eyes accented by her slightly tilted eyes which were framed by a pale, oval face. Wisps of black hair cascaded from her head and longish bangs just brushed the tips of her eyebrows. Zach recalled her large breasts set on her small, frail-seeming frame. Slender, long fingered hands flashed into his mind as he remembered working with her on her school application. Inpu had closed His eyes in response to Zach's concentration.

"Yes, yes, and where did she go?" Inpu could almost sense this woman that had violated His domain. His mind could feel the touch of whatever protection was over her and keeping Him from fully honing in on her.

Another image flashed across Zach's mind of a stately African woman somehow flinging him upside-down to the wall on the landing to Anzu's apartment. "Some colored bitch took her away from her apartment."

Inpu hissed as He remembered who the woman that Zach was now thinking of was the same woman He had ripped to shreds earlier that day. He tightened His hand until He heard a satisfying crunch from all the small bones and spinal column in the man's neck breaking. Tossing aside the Frenchman's body, Inpu turned upon the group with glowing red eyes until He spied Professor Knowles.

"You, what do you know of this girl?" The god pointed a finger at the gray-haired man.

"I do not know much, Great God Inpu of the Underworld," Professor Knowles answered in Ancient Egyptian.

Everyone there that was near someone whispered to the other person at the sudden revelation that this man could speak in a strange language. No one know what he said though. They had been silent during Zach's death, having almost become numb to Inpu's murders.

Nodding His jackal head, the god spoke to Professor Knowles again, "I see that you speak the correct tongue, mortal man. Why would Anzu Mazaki have dealings with you?"

"I showed her some tablets of Ancient Egypt, Lord Inpu," the professor replied. He didn't want to betray her, but he felt his options were fast running out thanks to the departed Zach's confessions. He could feel the slimy touch of the Jackal God's mind touching his, confirming his story. Professor Knowles tried not to cringe.

"You might be useful for other things," Inpu commented and then spread His arm out toward everyone else there. "The rest are only good for one thing... a sacrifice for My Father."

All color drained from Professor Knowle's face as he watched everyone begin to scream and Inpu stalking toward them. People tried to run, punching and kicking at doors that refused to budge. He could see a petite blond huddling in a dark corner off the main entrance next to a dead well-dressed man. She was hiding behind his large body and had covered herself with his jacket. Others were not so lucky to have a spot and these Inpu picked up and threw unto the main stage. Once they were there, it was like they were in an invisible cage as they slammed themselves against an unseen barrier and ricocheted back.

Once everyone except the professor and Diamond were gathered, Inpu entered the main stage area. Biting through her lower lip to keep from screaming, the dancer watched as her friends' limbs were ripped from their bodies and great fountains of their blood splurged upward to splash on the monster and the other victims, saturating everything on the stage. Those died quickly and were the lucky ones. She thought ironically that Anderson finally got the biggest VIP he could ever handle, but he was already dead, one of the first to go when he tried to punch the jackal-headed bastard.

Men were killed first along with most of the women gathered up there. Three of the nubile, dark-haired beauties were corralled to one side of the stage while eight dancers remained in the center. They huddled together, clinging to one another in fright as He came toward them. It was like He was playing with marionettes. Each movement of His hands caused one of the women to be thrown into extreme dancing positions that caused her to be quickly covered in the thick layer of gore on the stage. Tears poured down the cheeks of the remaining living. Bones began to crack as the movements became more abnormal and outside the bounds of the human body's capability.

Gathering up blood in His cupped palms, Inpu poured the blood of the people over His face and spread His arms out wide.

"Father! Setekh! He who would dare the Balance, He who would tear asunder His enemies, He who commands the Shadows and the Night beyond Re's grasp and Nut's hold, come forth to Your Son, Inpu! I offer unto You the blood of these slain by My hand and the pleasures of these women I have reserved for you! Come forth! Come forth and assist Your Son!"

Professor Knowles and Diamond stared in horror as a great mass of black energy began to crackle in the center of the still twisting and twining dancers. Something or someone was coming through, something bigger than the god who was shouting over and over again. A fearsome creature only seen upon the ancient tombs and scrolls of Ancient Egypt moved its face out of the miasma of dark energy.

"I, Setekh, answer the call of My Son, Inpu," came the hissing voice of Setekh, Egyptian God of Chaos and Night.


	33. Renewed

Wrapped in layers and layers of linen, Anzu laid upon the altar as a resplendent mummy. During the wrapping, Atemu had slipped in amulets of protection that had been left behind for his use when he had been entombed thousands of years ago. In addition, he had altered the back of the cartouche that she wore with the symbols for "beloved wife of Atemu." However, this could no longer be seen due to the wrappings.

Caressing her wrapped body, his fingers would pause here and there to adjust a piece or to ensure nothing was loose. It had been hard work, but he had been aided by his own dwindling powers. There was still four things remaining for him to do. He needed to dry out her body, perform the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, place her within his own sarcophagus with his mummy, and then seal the coffin once again.

Atemu tried to keep his thoughts on the why he was doing this and not that he was actually doing it. It was honorable for him to set this task of mummification, but at the same time, it tore apart his heart to have to do this. She was so young, so full of life and unknown potential. However, the same could have been said of him. He was younger than she when he had sealed his soul with that of Zorc Necrophades.

Twisting himself, he turned so that he was parallel to Anzu's body. He placed each hand upon a bandaged cheek and bent down over her. His forehead pressed against the coolness of her wrapped one. His thumbs caressed the still cheeks and throat. Atemu closed his eyes again, drawing upon the core of power she had helped create within him. He felt the blast of heat coursing through her, drying out all tissues and muscles. A slight slackening of the wraps occurred, but then within moments, they had tightened around her body. Opening his eyes, he moved his head only slightly down from her forehead. He breathed over where her lips were beneath the layers of cloth, and then knelt further to kiss them. Atemu could taste the saltiness of the natron and resin on his mouth.

Now came one of the most important ceremonies during the funerary process. This was the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and was said to reanimate the deceased. In truth, it gave a spirit the capability to interact with the world at large. Without the ceremony, the spirit was simply a waiting, inanimate soul and unable to even know or sense the world around them. Once the ceremony was complete, it would allow them to begin to awaken once more after their heart was weighed.

He brought his hand over a dark tool that appeared to be twin blades with a small lever that allowed them to open apart. It was made of meteoric iron and the very same adze used in his Opening of the Mouth ceremony. Chanting the ancient spells, Atemu slipped the blades between Anzu's lips, cutting through the linen, and began the process of setting into motion the reanimation of her spirit.

Far away in a darkened void, Anzu continued to sleep as she floated senseless to what was around her. Appearing next to her in a flash of silver light, the Goddess Aset pulled her close to Her body. She cradled Anzu like a small child for a brief moment before bringing Her lips next to her ear. A cadence of words spilled forth from the Goddess' lips and Anzu's eyes suddenly opened, only the whites showing. She began to uncoil from her fetal position and stretch out in Aset's arms. The silver cord that was connected to her grew taut and then suddenly a ripping sound echoed across the occupied cosmos. Her plexus cord grew slack and vanished within her faintly glowing body.

Smoothing Anzu's black hair from her forehead, Aset murmured more to Herself than to the girl in Her arms, "If you hadn't seemed so like Me, I probably wouldn't even care what happened to you or Little Brother."

Sensing the change in the void-space, Aset smiled and released Anzu from Her arms. Darkness was shaping and changing itself around her. Aset began to laugh, its melodic sound echoing throughout the emptiness.

"Setekh and Inpu will not win without a fight. They have no idea." She then burst into a thousand motes of silvery light and vanished. Anzu remained in the nothingness, awareness slowly coming back to her.

Over Luxor, the Kaiba Corporation jet was landing onto the airstrip located just outside the main part of the city. Punching through the black storm clouds, everyone gripped their seats as the captain fought with the turbulence menacing the plane. A cart that had held snacks and drinks for the passengers tumbled over. One of the stewardesses shrieked in response. Suddenly, the plane was plunged into darkness as the power ceased and they coasted through the air.

"Please everyone, hold on tightly to your seats and stay buckled. We appear to have lost power to the engines and are on reserve battery to land. It's going to be rough." The captain's voice suddenly came on the overhead speakers, crackling from static.

People reached out to one other over the armrests and gripped each other's hands, waiting for the plane to crash. Thoughts raced through minds that could this be the end of their lives, would they die in Egypt. Silence blanketed the cabin as they waited.

At the airport below, Ishizu had been looking out the large glass windows when she saw the lights on the approaching plane go out. Every sense in her screamed to get outside, and she ignored the yelling clerks as she raced out the gate door and down service stairs. Mariku and Rishid were within seconds behind her, yelling for her to stop. She shoved an airline mechanic to the side who tried to stop her. Rain pelted her body and caused her gown to cling to her skin instantly. She ripped the veil from her head and threw it to the growing winds, it floated away from her toward the Kaiba Corporation jet.

Mariku could hear the radios going off about a crashing plane and to evacuate the terminal immediately before Ishizu began to race outside. Rishid was the first to see her race out toward the air field, and they gave chase after their sister. He couldn't believe what she was doing. Was she insane, the plane from Japan was going to crash and it was aiming straight for them.

Getting to her first, Rishid gripped her arms as she wordlessly struggled out of her older brother's grasp. Within moments, Mariku was there to grab her from behind and try to pick her up. She kicked backward and was able to wiggle out. Ishizu twisted around so that she was facing the oncoming plane. It was less than a few minutes from crashing upon the tarmac. She reached out and gripped each of her brothers who screamed suddenly, but not from the plane.

Crying out to the sky, Ishizu declared, "I am incarnate of Isis, priestess of Kemet and keeper of Sight! Gods of Kemet, do not allow this tragedy to happen! Hear my cry!"

She began to emanate a golden glow that was matched by her frozen brothers on either side of her. Superimposed over her figure was the that of the ancient priestess, Isis. Light shot from their joined hearts straight for the out of control plane. Within seconds of striking it, all lights came back on and it sharply turned its nose up. The bottom of the plane clipped the roof of the Luxor airport and debris rained down on Ishizu, Mariku, and Rishid. All three Ishutaru siblings collapsed onto the ground and let the rain fall on them, breathing heavily like they had just run a mile in the hot sun.

On the plane, they heard the captain cussing over the speaker and felt the engines suddenly spring to life as they were enveloped in a golden glow. Everyone knew when the bottom of the plane skimmed the building below them and most of them screamed in fear, but the plane shot back out into the raining skies with a roar.

"E-e-everyone," the captain stuttered, "power has... power has returned to the engines. We are … we are landing immediately."

A sigh came throughout the cabin of the plane. Rebecca nuzzled closer to Yugi, who wrapped his arm around her in relief. Mai and Jonouchi smiled at one another, and she laid her head on his shoulder. Honda pumped his fist in the air in excitement and gave Shizuka a quick kiss in happiness at living another day. Otogi and Mokuba high-fived one another from the back row and Sugoroku clapped in happiness with them. In the very front row, where no eyes could immediately see, Kaiba was snatching back the hand that had wrapped itself around Bakura's. Both men stared forward without saying a word.

After the plane landed, everyone tumbled out of it and were glad to be able to walk outside of the metal tube, even if it was in the pouring rain. No one wanted to wait for the plane to pull up to the terminal after the shaky landing, and it didn't seem the staff was willing to stop Kaiba from exiting. Those with bags had then slung over shoulders or were pulling them along behind them. Yugi looked up at the yellow inflated slide they all had just slid down, a bright golden yellow amid the gloom.

Across from the exiting group, Ishizu was being pulled up by the mechanics who were looking around confused. Rather than to possibly be considered insane, they were keeping their mouths closed about the golden glow and simply admonishing the trio for running out of the terminal in such a dangerous situation. Yugi was the first to notice the Ishutarus, and he ran with an excited yell toward them, followed shortly by most of his group.

"Ishizu... are you okay?" Rishid asked his adopted sister, still supporting her with his arm.

She nodded. "Yes, I think so... what just happened?"

He looked at the sky just as everyone came excitedly running up to them. In a low voice, just for her, "I don't know."

"Ishizu! Mariku! Rishid! It is good to see all of you again!" Yugi happily cried out when he got close enough. Rebecca was not far behind him.

"Oh my god! Did you see what happened? We almost crashed!" Rebecca gushed.

Mariku nodded as he straightened up, glancing at Ishizu with concerned lavender eyes. "Yes, we saw. You scared us, we thought you were going to crash."

Within moments, the rest of the group was there chatting animatedly about the sudden near-crash of the airplane. Kaiba stood back from the group, a large black umbrella shielding him and Mokuba from the rain was in his hand.

Kaiba's voice cut through the chatter like a knife. "So, we are here as a result of Anzu. Now what do you want us to do?"

At that moment, the weather decided to take a twist, and several bolts of lightening cracked across the sky. All the women except for Ishizu screamed. Ishizu looked shocked and scared, silently gripping tighter on her brothers on either side. Within seconds, the rain had halted and a rare cyclone born of the storm took form in the west on the other side of the Nile. Everyone except for their group raced inside the building, screaming about the tornado. Sand was kicked up from the winds and blew against them like sharp glass dust. Kaiba's umbrella was picked up by a strong current of wind and ripped from his hand.

Jonouchi turned and looked at Kaiba. "Kaiba, next time, do us a favor and say 'It can't get any worse' will you?"

"Less talking and more getting inside," Mai yelled back at everyone.

The tall blond woman could see it was going to escalate if they weren't careful. However, she wasn't sure if she was more worried about the storm or Kaiba and Jonouchi. Grabbing her boyfriend's arm, she dragged him along with her toward the terminal. The others were not far behind them.

In New York, Setekh had answered the call of His Son, Inpu. There was little familial loyalty for the father to the son. The whelp had already cost Him enough trouble by handing over the secrets of the dead to Aset, but when He heard that She was involved in this elaborate mess, Setekh agreed to break Her protection over this Anzu Mazaki. Whoever this mortal was, she must be valuable to the Goddess or there wouldn't be so much trouble over her. In addition, apparently she had the secrets to the Millennium Tome. He could easily crack her mind open like a nut and pull the juicy keys out if he desired.

Around the two gods, a bloody mist hung around Them. A heavy, meaty smell clung to everything in the dark bar. Setekh had taken perverse pleasure upon the nubile offerings His Son had gathered and now their broken and battered bodies laid cast aside, raped in ways that the sickest, most mentally deranged human could not have imagined. Their sightless eyes stared forward, still wide from a terror that not even death could erase. Turning His horrific bestial head about, a terrifying creature that was named after Himself, Setekh sniffed out the area. Two mortals remained in the bar.

"Inpu, gather the two remaining humans, and bring them to Me immediately," Setekh commanded in His hissing voice.

Professor Knowles was easily located behind the bar. He had crawled behind the old wooden serving area and plugged his ears to the screams of the girls during their defilement. He had thought he had seen enough terrors when he had traveled across war-torn countries, but this made all those experiences look like a fantasy land. At some points, he thought he would die from the pain and hurt in his heart, and now, as Inpu picked him up and tossed him to land at Setekh's feet, he was wishing he had died.

Clinging to the dead back of Martin, Diamond had buried herself under the corpse as much as she could. The dancer never dared to peek from behind the jacket that she had covered her head with and she cried as they had begged to gods that never heard them. She felt like she was covered in slime, the gore was so heavy in the air and she tried not to breathe too hard lest she smell too much of Martins's body, the blood of her friends, and her own bile. Diamond had thrown up when the screams became too much for her to handle. When Inpu came for her, she had clung to Martin like a woman drowning, kicking at the jackal-god. In the end, He tossed both her and the corpse over by the old man.

Joining the last of the living again, Inpu kicked away the black man's body and watched as the one with the gold hair clung to herself, weeping like a small child. He could smell the scent of this Anzu coming off of her much more strongly than that of the old man. His father will be pleased by her. It was turning out that by letting the man live and forgetting about the woman until now was going to be beneficial for their uses.

"Our problem is that one of Us, very possibly Aset, has cast some sort of protection over Your interloper. This is why You, Inpu, cannot see her or penetrate pass the barrier. You are not of the same generation. However, if it is cast by Re or or Gebed and those of Their generation, it will become more difficult for Me to break." Father explained to the son.

Inpu pointed out Diamond, seeking to appease Setekh. "Father, this one carries the scent of Anzu strongest, will she be useful for your needs?"

That monstrous head nodded in reply and caught sight of Professor Knowles. Staring at the ground, the old man had given up any hope of rescue when Setekh entered. Setekh was known for His cruelty and deadly passions. He only hoped, that whatever they would do to him would be quick and painless. Memories of the past and the things in life he had given up to pursue his dreams flashed across his mind. There was no wife or children that would worry about him. His nieces and nephews along with their children may become concerned in a few weeks. Bitterly, he realized in his heart of hearts that the staff at the university would be first to notice him missing. He had no living legacy. Now, all he could do was wait for death.

"He will become the focal," Setekh stated in those deadly sibilant tones.

Defeated, he looked up at Them when he was pulled up by Inpu's rough hands. Professor Knowles felt pain when claws pierced through him, but he was too numb in his mind to cry out. Diamond, however, screamed enough for both of them. She tried to run, but Setekh grabbed the fleeing woman.

Diamond was panicking. What was she going to be used for? This was not good, not good. Her entire view on the world had been shattered in the space of hours. Did Jehovah exist? She asked herself that and many more questions in the space of hearing her friends being tortured. A sight, she ashamedly had thought to herself then, that she could not watch. Now, the big scary one with a taste for blood and exotic, inhumane sex was grabbing her. There was no one who would mourn her when They killed her; she had runaway from an abusive family when she was twelve years old.

Kicking outward, Diamond felt her foot connect with the snout of the one called Setekh. Within seconds, He was slamming her down to the ground. She felt bones crack from the force of her body hitting the hard concrete and tile.

Horrible laughter echoed from Him. "Her blood will be used to seek out Anzu and break the protection."

Professor Knowles died with a barely audible gurgle. While Setekh had been busy with Diamond, Inpu made short work of skinning the elderly man alive. Diamond could see his glistening corpse as Inpu laid the flesh out on the floor next to her. Turning over, she gazed into the most merciless, evil, glowing red eyes she could ever imagine existing. This must be what they said Satan is was her last thought as pain and then blessed silence overtook her.

Unknown to Atemu as he finished the last of the Opening of the Mouth ceremony, above him the deluging rain had stop and a mighty sandstorm had taken its place. Right now, his concerns were upon the woman he loved with all his being. He had swaddled her in yellowed linen, almost like pale gold, and he was picking her off of the golden funerary altar, the place where they had made love and now death together. He knew his strength was almost gone and his presence in this world was fading quickly.

He tried to simply focus on Anzu as he made his way back to his own sarcophagus. Right now, this was no simple shell in his arms, but in his coffin was his shell. Soon, he thought to himself, soon, she shall be weighed against the feather and be with him, safe and of a spiritual existence like himself. Each step felt like a mile and he made his way slowly and carefully. Atemu did not want to drop this most precious burden.

Carefully, he slipped her into the sarcophagus and pushed his own ancient corpse to the side. Turning it, he slipped his mummy's dry papery hands into the recesses of Anzu's wrapped ones. Both corpses were facing one another in the stone and gold resting place. Atemu looked up and saw something on a platform a short distance away that must've been put in here by a hopeful family member. A golden headdress for a queen in the same style as his own headdress of pharaoh. It took him two times before his fingers stayed solid enough for him to grasp it and return to his wife.

He slipped the Queen's crown upon her head and murmured to them both, "Now, when you arise once again, all will know and see that you are a Queen of Kemet and Beloved of Pharaoh Atemu."

His fingers caressed the still head and withdrew. This final task would exhaust all his resources, but the sarcophagus had to be closed before she could be released from the shell. It was the way of his people and would require more ancient incantations and chants. The rawness in his throat was disappearing as he became more spiritual than physical.

Atemu knelt in front of the sarcophagus and began the chants that would cause the lily-like coffin style to close in upon itself. First, the side slats slid in and covered the two mummies from view, and then the inner lids collapsed back into place. The heaviest portion of the sarcophagus was the gilded and abundantly decorated outer lid, which was pointed upward toward the heavens. Strength was seeping from him rapidly, and he could feel exhaustion filling his soul. Tears fell from his eyes as he feared he would not finish this task. His nails dug into his palms.

A faint sound of other voices matching his chants joined his, he could see from the corner of his eyes Mahado and Mana appearing on either side of him. They were lending their strength and energy to him. How in the Gods did he ever become so fortunate with such friends, but regardless they were once again aiding him in his hour of need. Mahado and Mana did not fully solidify in the physical realm, but for their pharaoh they had come and lent themselves to his needs. All three watched as the great golden lid slowly fell down into place and internal mechanisms locked the sarcophagus, sealing it from outsiders.

Ma'at appeared behind the sarcophagus and was holding scales in Her hand that were eerily similar to the Millennium Scales. Aset also appeared, flanked by Her handmaidens which filled the sides of the chamber. Mana gasped slightly, to see Aset attending this portion of the funerary rites was highly unusual. Then, their attention was pulled back to the golden coffin. A silvery light was rising from within it.

Shaped like a small ball, it began to seep out of the lid of the coffin where the heart was located. At that same moment, a great sonic boom and crash resonated throughout the chamber. Mana, Mahado, and Atemu all turned to see Inpu and Seketh appearing within the golden altar chamber. A bloody piece of something that looked like untanned leather was tossed to the side.

Inpu began racing across the chamber, leaping over the golden altar, screaming out, "She will not pass to Aaru!"

Ma'at looked up from the floating heart as it was making its way to the plate, Her feather had already been placed opposite of it. A faint, imperceptible smile ghosted across her lips and was gone. Her dark black eyes were fathomless.

Aset turned and cast a beam of energy toward Inpu, with intent to stop up, but the reddish-black energy of Setekh repelled her. Her eyes narrowed as the murderer of Her Husband fought against Her. She could see that snout of His grinning in perverse pleasure at Her determination to keep Anzu safe failing.

"What in all that is holy is Setekh and Inpu doing here!" Mana cried out.

Atemu was shaking, he could guess about Inpu. "I have already angered Inpu once before. When He sees me, I expect He will be angrier. As for Setekh, I have no idea!"

Coughing into the back of his throat, Mahado added, "I don't think that matters right now. Mana, lend me your strength and we must seal the room."

Mahado and Mana cast their arms forward and cried out in the secret tongues of Heka and the golden doors sealed themselves shut to the sarcophagus room. Everyone heard Inpu slamming His body against the doors, but they held., and Setekh and Aset were no longer able to direct their energies at each other. However, the magician pair were fading rapidly from the exertion that it was taking to keep the God barred. Atemu was no longer capable of powering anything since he had exhausted all his energies focusing on Anzu.

He watched as the heart floated slowly toward the plate, begging that it move faster. It pulsated as it beat out its living rhythm. Atemu found himself praying and could see Aset from the corner of his eyes watching the moving heart. He wondered why She was continuing to help them. She had no reason to do so. Next to Ma'at, a creature was pulling itself out of a dark pit that had suddenly formed the closer the heart came to the Scales. Ammit, the beast that would destroy souls and take them to Tuat for eternal torture was waiting for hopeful failure of Anzu's weighing. The creature salivated in anticipation.

Touching the farthest tip of the plate, Atemu held his breath as it appeared the heart was going to make it to the weighing. Then the doors burst open with a twisted noise and black energy flooded the floor of the room. Setekh had blasted them down. Aset resumed Her assault upon him and the Night and Chaos God snarled at the Magic and Fertility Goddess.

Anzu's heart had made its way into the plate, regardless of the pandemonium of the two gods blasting into the room. Ma'at scales were shining bright gold and the light of Her power drove back the black miasma in the room. Her scales remained unmoved and the beastly Ammit screamed in anger of not having a soul to devour, before vanishing from whence it came.

"Her soul is even with My Feather!" Ma'at called out, "She may walk the safe path through Tuat to Aaru."

Inpu howled out in rage and leaped toward Ma'at and Her Scales.

Aset called out, "Haru, My Son! Come forth and protect these proceedings!"

A falcon's hark responded, and the great bird appeared in front of Inpu, halting the other god's movement. Atemu had joined the fray to stop the rampaging Inpu before he could reach the Truth Goddess. Inpu hissed at seeing Atemu.

"You!" He pointed His hand at Atemu, "You who broke the laws of My domain millennia ago!" Inpu's growl was low and feral. He had now been twice usurped by this pharaoh.

Haru manifested fully, the God of Protection standing forth against trespass to Ma'at and His Mother. He was bodily of the same stature as His Mother, but His head was that of a large falcon.

"And You, Cousin, shall not interfere with Ma'at. This soul has passed the weighing." Haru's hawk-like voice resonated throughout the chamber.

Setekh seethed at His enemy, the one who had sealed Him from having greater influence over Kemet. "And this mortal, along with her accomplice, the Pharaoh of the Millennium Items, broke Divine rule over the dead, again. Her path is invalidated, My Son has no need to allow her passage to the golden lands of Re."

A great battle immediately broke out between the warring gods. Setekh attempted to attack Haru and Aset defended Her Son who was busy keeping Inpu at bay from Ma'at and the silvery heart. Flows of energy illuminated every quarter of the sarcophagus chamber in multiple colors and flew over the heads of the spirits. Mana and Mahado had faded since their offering of energy, but Atemu could still feel the presence of his two childhood friends. His heart was heavy and he said a small, internal apology to Anzu for his next actions before he spoke.

"I offer my akh, the culmination of my Ka and Ba and core of my essence," Atemu said evenly, quietly, yet his voice carried above the fighting of the Gods, "in exchange for allowing Anzu to pass through the Gates to Aaru. I offer myself as sacrifice."

Aset turned, halting Her attack on Setekh, and looked at him, "Are you mad, Little Brother?"

"I accept!" Setekh yelled out.

Ma'at stepped forward, everyone suddenly became silent. While She was a daughter of the elder gods, like Setekh, Aset, and Asar, Her power of Balance and Order was so great that Re used Her to hold the world in place. You did not interrupt Ma'at when She decided to speak, even Setekh was forced to accept Her words, and grabbed the necklaces upon Inpu's neck to force His Son to stop His attempt at grabbing the heart.

"This way allows for no balance for the soul of this mortal who has already passed the test of My feather. Setekh, You cannot accept Atemu's soul for payment on Anzu passing through the gate. It is not Your domain."

Aset looked triumphantly at Setekh, Her smirk plainly evident.

"I would not celebrate, yet, Aset," Ma'at continued without looking at Her, "Because by using the Millennium Tome, the book You penned with spells secreted to You via Inpu, Anzu had earned the ire of Inpu. Inpu... is free to challenge her soul's worthiness."

This time, Inpu offered up a gloating smile which was quickly wiped away.

"However, any challenge must have a viable solution that cannot be barred. Atemu's offer, once spoken cannot be undone, but he can only lose his akh should his queen lose." Ma'at stepped back and away from the proceedings, Her counsel given and set.

Reaching out toward the scale, Inpu could not help but enjoy the look of silent rage on Atemu's face as He placed His hand upon the glowing silver heart on the platter. Dark violet energy ripped across His body.

"Let the true Shadow Game begin," He said, His eyes boring into Atemu's the whole time. A flash of white light lit up the entire tomb.

Beeping, there was shrill beeping and the sound of old, tired wheels being pushed upon linoleum. Antiseptic smells assaulted her nose and burned her throat. She felt like she was tied down on a moving table with a scratchy, starched sheet covering her. What was going on? The last thing she could remember was looking into Atemu's eyes and telling him that she loved him. Then, everything became dark. Wait, no, maybe, she felt like there was something else missing, and it was very important.

"She's coming around, Doctor Jackson! She's lost a lot of blood, we'll need a transfusion." A no-nonsense women's voice seemed to echo above her prone body.

Someone pulled on the lids of her eyes up and a light shined in, blinding her temporarily.

This time, the Doctor spoke, "Anzu Mazaki, stay with us. I need to know what pills you took."

She was confused, they were speaking perfect American English. "What pills? I haven't taken any pills."

"Miss, yes, you did. Your friend told us there were bottles of them all over your apartment. Also, you slit your arms and lost a lot of blood. Do you know where you are?"

"I'm... I'm.. in Kemet... I mean Egypt... near Luxor." Her voice sounded tiny and small to her.

He pulled away from her and sighed. "No, you're not. You're in the NYU Emergency Room."


	34. Committed

No her mind screamed. No, this was a lie. This was not true. This could not be real. It was a hallucination. However, why were her arms hurting her so much. Well, she did cut them when she did the spell to bring Atemu back from the dead, even if it was temporary. But what this man over her was saying could not be true. Yet, her ears were not lying to her. Everyone was speaking American English with clipped New York accents. She began to struggle against the bonds of the gurney.

"No! No! No!" Her mouth was now screaming what her mind was thinking. "You're just a nightmare! This isn't real! Let go of me! Atemu! Atemu! Atemu!!"

"Hold her down!" The nurse screamed at some orderlies.

She was twisting and fighting them, strong hands were trying to push her back down on the mattress, but she wouldn't stop thrashing. One brought his hand too close to her mouth, and she bit down as hard as she could, tasting the saltiness of his blood. He gave her a scream and pulled back as another took his place. Anzu had risen halfway up and twisted herself over the metal rails. At that moment, someone pushed her back down again and her head hit the rail as she came down. Stars exploded behind her eyelids, and consciousness began to seep away from her.

"Shit, she's out cold," was the last thing that Anzu heard.

Time passed, how long she wasn't sure, but eventually she began to feel that she was in another part of the hospital. Bright overhead lights created a red glow on her eyelids, but she was not ready to face these people again. A pair of orderlies were in the room, and she could hear them shuffling about.

"...yeah, she's a failed suicide. Crazy girl was mumbling that she was in Egypt and then just went off in Japanese or Chinese. I couldn't tell."

"Is she even American?"

"Nope, some student visa or something. I heard that they tried the school she had used to get it, but they said she wasn't a student. No one knows who her kin is or who to bill for this crap."

"Great, another fucking immigrant we have to pay for I bet."

"Meh, does it ever change?"

"Still doesn't mean I can't bitch about it."

Laughter and then a door closing. Now, there was silence.

Anzu opened her eyes. She was in a drab, gray room of the hospital. There were no curtains, or rods, or chairs. There was no medical equipment in here either. Everything was stripped from this room. She could see the band-aid on her hand where they had placed an IV needle in and later removed it. Thick cuffs were locked around her wrists. They were lined with soft material, but the outside was hard leather. A small lock kept them in place. It was too thick for someone to chew threw if they wanted to escape them. Rings were on each one, and she surmised this was for attaching to straps or something similar to keep a person restrained. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she sat up.

At least she wasn't restrained to the bed. Considering what had happened the last time she was awake, but this couldn't be real. It just couldn't be. Her heart told her that she was in Atemu's tomb. He was her husband now. They had made love. She scrunched her eyes tight as she remembered after that was when she had died. Anzu stood up from the lumpy bed with gray sheets and located the bathroom.

Splashing water on her face, she couldn't help but reel from the fact that the water was ice cold on her hands. The faucets were also those kind that you had to keep pushing in to get the water to flow. No, she couldn't doubt that she had been in Egypt. This had to be some nightmare realm of the dead. That had to be it. She looked up into the polished metal that served as a mirror in this room.

Tired eyes rimmed in dark circles stared back at her. Her hair was tangled and hung limply around her face. She reached out and touched the surface of this false mirror. Anzu could see her reflection touching her hand. White bandages ran up the length of her arms, fresh and made of cotton fibers. That was when she noticed something missing from her neck. Her cartouche was not there!

Anzu couldn't help the tears that began to fall earnestly from her eyes. Her most precious possession was now missing. She had wanted to have Atemu's named carved into the back, but now, that would never be possible. She leaned her head against the polished surface in front of her, shaking with sobs.

Suddenly, it felt like there was no mirror and that her forehead was pressed against another one. She could feel the hard lines of a complex headband pressing against her flesh. Fingertips from another person touched her own. Neither moved in the space of that moment. Anzu wanted to twine her fingers with her other half's hand, but feared the moment she did anything this mirage of companionship would vanish. She didn't want to be insane.

Just as quickly as it manifested, the moment was gone. She could feel the cold, flat surface of the metal mirror, and she opened her eyes. Blue stared back at her. He was not there like she had thought he was. It was like when he first manifested to her, she had questioned her sanity then as well. Now, she apparently was somewhere that everyone was going to question her. Splashing water on her face again, she turned from the bathroom and awaited who would come next.

Her wait was not long. Someone unlocked the door from the other side and a thick-faced woman of indeterminate age entered. She was wearing old-fashioned shoes that made a heavy clogging sound where she walked. The nurse was carrying a clipboard and a pen was in her pocket.

"Miss Mazaki?" She queried Anzu.

Standing up from her perch on the bed, Anzu acknowledged that was she.

"This way if you will, you are going to see Doctor Louis Spencer." She stated in clipped tones and turned, expecting Anzu to follow.

Anzu felt self-conscious walking down the hall of closed doors in the starchy half-dress she had awakened wearing. It had faded colors and designs of little pandas all over it. Obviously an overly used hospital garment. She wondered what had happened to her linen dress, then blushed to herself. If she was remembering correctly and not crazy, Atemu had ripped it off of her in his passion.

They stopped at an office at the end of the hallway. A institutional door of pale teal was in front of her. A small brass nameplate with 'Dr. Louis Spencer' written upon it was just above a folder slot. Her silent nurse companion opened the door and pointed her into another austere room. This time it was a simple office with a plain wooden desk, a cushioned chair behind that, and a single metal chair in front. A lingering smell of nicotine was in the room. Anzu stepped in and sat down in front of a man with curly light brown hair and blue eyes.

"Hello, Miss Mazaki. Please, have a seat." His voice was slightly melodic, and he gestured to the seat in front of her.

Looking around the office, she tentatively took a seat. Her chair gave a low shriek as it scraped across the linoleum. Anzu tried not wince at it.

"When will I be allowed to leave?" Her question was burning at the forefront of her mind.

"That depends on you, Anzu. I may call you Anzu, of course?" His smile was plastic and fake.

Shrugging, Anzu nodded and waited for him to continue.

"Anzu, you tried to commit suicide. If your friend had not found you when she did, you would probably be dead right now. In addition, it appears on investigation into your home that you have a problem with alcohol and drugs. Quite possibly these are fueling your delusions that you were babbling about in the emergency room." Doctor Spencer's hands were shaped into a steeple at his desk.

"They're not delusions, they're real!" She cried back at his cold analysis, half-standing in her chair.

He raised an eyebrow. "Sit back down."

She did.

"Now, with intervention and therapy, once you come to accept your delusions for what they are, you can be released to an outpatient facility. Until then, you will be a resident of this psychiatric ward at NYU. Do you understand?"

Frowning, she acknowledged what he said but refused to believe that what she had experienced had been some sort of delusion.

"Look, Doctor Spencer," she said, leaning forward, "I really was in Egypt. I was in the Valley of the Kings. You can check my passport, they'll be a stamp. Also, you can call Madame Mikala of Mikala's Dance Studio. She helped me fly out there. She even took me to the airport!"

He stroked his chin for a moment and then asked her, "What day is it, Anzu?"

Baffled, she replied, "It's the middle of July, maybe the fifteenth or so. I'm not really positive."

"Anzu, it's May Twenty-Ninth. You were brought in yesterday morning."

Now, she was up on her feet. "That's impossible! No, it is not May. That... that..." In her mind, the sentence finished itself. That was the day she tried to commit suicide months ago. The day that Atemu had reentered her life. If he was telling the truth, then that meant that nothing had happened. No, she couldn't accept this. This had to be a trick. She could only stared forward.

"You've had an obvious shock. I'm sorry to have hurt you. You must understand that you are suffering from schizophrenic episodes as a result of your attempted suicide. At least, that is our initial assessment that during the time period you were unconscious that your mind created this story in your head to cope with what you had done."

"What do you know?" She asked quietly.

"Enough to know that you believed you went to Egypt and that you have some connection to a man named Atemu, strange enough name." He gave her a light shrug.

She still couldn't believe it, he had to be lying. This couldn't be true, but she could see his snow-white overcoat marking his occupation. Weren't doctors always right with their diagnoses? But her heart still rebelled at what he was saying, even if her mind was becoming half-convinced by it. He was still talking and she missed some of what he had said.

"...a medication I believe will be useful for you. You'll have to take it twice a day, but you'll see alleviation of your symptoms quite quickly if you follow the regimen."

"Eto?" She was confused. Medication? Were they going to force her to take drugs, didn't they just say she had a problem with them.

A small buzz sounded on his phone. He pointed a single finger at her to be quiet for a moment.

"Yes?" He spoke into the intercom of the telephone.

"Someone is here to see patient Anzu Mazaki. Have you decided to allow visitors or not, Doctor?"

He paused for a moment and then pressed the button again. "I'm sure that will be acceptable. Take them to the visiting area, and I will deliver Anzu there myself."

Doctor Spencer gave her a tight smile. "You want to see your friend, don't you?"

"Y-yes." Anzu wasn't quite sure what to expect now.

Joining her on the other side of the desk, he took her elbow and led her out the door of his office. Doctor Spencer walked her down another hallway, and then yet another. Anzu noticed that everything looked the same on this floor. Cookie-cutter modern construction assaulted her senses and made her dizzy with its repetitive nature. Finally, they reached what appeared to be a type of cafeteria. Inside, she could see only one person. A woman with bright, blond hair was sitting at a round table in one of the institutional chairs.

"I think you'll be fine in here, go on." The doctor ushered her into the room, and then left to go talk to a nurse at a station just outside the visiting area.

Anzu slowly approached Diamond. She could see that the blond was fidgeting, and that she kept clasping and unclasping her hands. This wasn't the normal character that she saw in Diamond. It seemed off.

"Diamond?" Anzu asked her and the other woman nearly jumped.

A plastic smile, just like Doctor Spencer's, plastered itself across her face, and she motioned for Anzu to join her.

"I'm so glad that you're okay. I was really scared when I found you the other morning," Diamond gushed in one breath.

Anzu looked at a spot just pass her friend's head. "Yeah, I guess that would be scary."

Diamond hesitated for a moment. "But... you're okay now and that's what counts. If you do what the doctors say, you'll be all better. Right as rain, even." Another plastic smile, her words were a tone off and Anzu realized was that she talking higher than normal. It was like she was nervous or something. Maybe, the hospital was getting to her. However, her heart told her something wasn't making sense that her rational mind was trying to wrap itself around.

"Hey, Anzu,"Diamond kept saying, "You know, they give great stuff in here. You think you could save your pills for me?"

"What?" Anzu said, taken aback by the subject. Diamond was fidgeting even more.

"Yes, Anzu, please save the pills and not take them. I really would like them. You'll do that for old Diamond won't you?" Anzu could see her eyes glancing toward the window where the doctor and nurse was sitting.

"I... I..." This made no sense to her. Apparently, Diamond found her as an attempted suicide, told her to listen to the doctors, and now was insisting that she save her medication to give to her.

"Please, Anzu?" Diamond was begging, but she hadn't changed her frozen features.

"I can do that, if you really want me to," Anzu finally said and gave her a pat on the hand.

Nodding emphatically, she suddenly stood up and spoke very loudly. "I have to get back to the dance club. You know how much of a bear Anderson can be."

Diamond exited the visiting area, and Anzu could see through the glass that her doctor was directing a nurse to come retrieve her. It been a very strange visit. A different nurse was leading her back, this one was more grandmotherly to her and clucked her tongue every so often when she saw something out of place. When they got back to her room, she tucked Anzu into bed. This really surprised her.

"Ah, there we go, dearie." Something about the woman was very familiar but she couldn't put a finger on it. "Nice and tucked in, you need your rest."

She turned around away from Anzu and pulled something off of a small counter outside her room. It was a little paper white cup and a small glass of water. She held both out to her.

"Take your medicine like a good girl," she told Anzu.

When she had leaned toward Anzu to give her the items, a glint of silver shone suddenly at the elderly nurses throat. Still feeling the loss of her cartouche, she took instant interest in the charm. It was shaped like a long-nosed dog.

"What's that you have on your necklace?" Anzu asked her.

It seemed the nurse's eyes hardened suddenly with an emotion Anzu couldn't read. Her hand came up to the charm, and she tucked it back into her shirt.

A plastic smile again was given along with her reply. "Nothing, sweetling, just a silly old charm. Now, take your medicine."

Remembering what Diamond had requested and her promise, plus Anzu was not keen on taking this unknown pill, she slipped it between her lower jaw and cheek. Then she swallowed the water, making a gulping motion with her throat. Her nurse asked her to open her mouth and touch the roof of her mouth with her tongue. Anzu couldn't help her relief inside that she had chosen to hide the drug in her lower cheek.

As the nurse exited, the lights were turned out in Anzu's room. Laying there in the dark, she spit the bitter tasting pill into her hand. Moonlight seeped in through the high, thin window. It seemed she was in some sort of a tower at times. So far, she had only seen the doctor and a couple of nurses outside of Diamond. She couldn't be the only crazy person in New York. For a long moment, her mind wandered over what she remembered versus what the doctor was telling her.

In a flash, she shoot straight up out of bed. Diamond didn't know her real name, and even if she had found it out in the last two days, she would not have used it so often like she did. Anzu had never told the other dancers at the Dancing Dolls her real name. Only Anderson knew that and not even he used the name for her. She was Geisha Girl to the Dancing Dolls and that included its dancers and patrons.

Sitting in the dark room, she wondered what could this all mean. Was Diamond trying to warn her about something? Did that mean Diamond was in danger? The quiet was unnerving. However, she was tired and the best thing she could do was get some sleep. Laying down, Anzu curled into a small ball and tried to imagine Atemu holding her in his arms, keeping her safe and warm in this sterile and cold world.

She must be dreaming again, she thought to herself as she walked along the halls of the hospital unheeded. Anzu could see people talking to one another, but it all seemed off and strange. It was like just below the surface of their skin, she could see death. Her nose was assaulted with a mixture of sterility and decay. Rubbing her nose, she closed her eyes for a second and when she reopened them, she gasped.

Everything around had transformed itself from a hospital to a tomb. It seemed superimposed on top of the hospital ward she was in. Hieroglyphic designs adorned the walls, but seemed to be just underneath the light gray paint. And the people around her, now their healthy images seemed fainter than their visages of death. She could only stand there in shock as they passed around her, ignoring her presence there. This was horrible, how could this be she thought to herself.

Then out of the darkness, a faint golden glow appeared. A woman with long blond hair wearing some sort of hat and low-cut blue and pink outfit. It took a moment more for Anzu to fully recognize the manifestation of the Black Magician Girl. She walked silently through the halls and took care not to interact with any of the denizens that were there. Something glinted in her hands, glowing like a lantern to dispel the darkness and reveal the truth of where she was.

Void places came and went with her passing and made everything nearest to her seem more wispy and unreal. Only the people, in their duel states of living and dead, remained in any solid type of form. Nothing acknowledge the Duel Monsters image of the Magician Mana. Anzu remembered now. Mana's Ka was that of the Black Magician Girl. She also recalled that it was this being that stood by her side in so many instances of her life when fighting alongside Yugi and Atemu when they were conjoined. In away, they shared a bond and representation.

Silently, she finally reached Anzu and held out the shining lantern to her. Her old friend in the cards urged for her to take what she was offering, and she accepted the gift of light from her. As Anzu's fingers touched it, everything in her dream broke apart, including the Black Magician Girl. She could feel herself waking but she was still holding something in her hand. Opening her eyes, a vision of Mana was there for but a moment and then gone. In her hand remained the gift from her dream. It was her cartouche.

Memories came flooding back into Anzu's mind in that moment as the dawn sun flooded through the slat above her. A beautiful woman was talking to her, whispering to her of things to come. Spells were being told to her, some but not all of the words could be recalled. However, the strongest memory of all was that of her telling her that Inpu would test her soul and belief, and if she were to stop believing, she would fail.

Anzu held belief in her hands and truth that what she had experienced was not false. Egypt and her travels had been real. She had been there. Where ever she was now did not matter. Gazing at the cartouche, she noticed another symbol just above her name. A marking of a queen. Turning it over, tears sprung into her eyes. Written there was that she was the beloved of Atemu. Her marriage had been real. She was a true Queen of Kemet and most of all, she was Atemu's wife.

Her elderly nurse came in, the one wearing what Anzu now knew was a jackal pendant, with her tray of breakfast and medication. She stopped suddenly when she saw Anzu sitting up in her bed holding the glowing light.

"Mrs. Jameson, how is Whiskers?" Anzu asked her in a low voice.

Fat tears spilled out of the fake nurse's eyes, but when she tried to answer Anzu, nothing come out of her mouth. The tray in her hands fell to the floor. Anzu stood up from the bed and walked pass the weeping woman. In her heart, Anzu mourned her death for surely old Mrs. Jameson with her cat had died by Inpu's hand. Nothing else made sense for how she could be trapped here. That also meant that Diamond was dead as well. A small prayer went to all those she knew who had been hurt by the God as she started walking down a hallway.

Anzu found a door at the end of the hall, and it seemed her cartouche had led her to it. Pulling the door open, she ascended the stairs quickly. She went as high as they would take her, and it felt like hours or years had rolled by her. Nothing would stop her, she had belief in the palm of her hand. Finally, she came to a landing, and there were no more stairs. Before opening this final door, she replaced the cartouche around her neck. She then entered the next room in this false world.

It didn't take Doctor Spencer long to appear once she had sat down at a piano she found in the corner of the large and expansive room. Light was streaming through curtainless windows of what appeared to be an entertainment wing. It was falling upon the lacquered black surface of the piano and cast an ethereal glow around Anzu. Everything here seemed strangely unreal. As he walked toward her, light seemed to retreat from his steps. She knew the truth. He would not stop her.

Anzu began to play a tune that came into her head. She was not a master pianist, but she remembered some of the lessons from when she was a little girl and what her parents had tried to foster on her. Notes came crashing into the room at her fingers' command. She stared into the eyes of the doctor, her own blue ones dark in rage.

Singing in a low voice, Anzu began, "All of my hate cannot be found... I will not be drowned by your thoughtless scheming..."

"Miss Mazaki, come away from the piano," Doctor Spencer commanded of her, his tones clipped and carrying a faint lisp.

"So you can try to tear me down, beat me to the ground. I will see you screaming."

He was at the piano now and reaching out toward her shoulder. She noticed that his nails had turned just as black as his formally blue eyes. Anzu jumped up from the piano bench but she kept on singing, a faint ring of red circled his irises.

"Anzu." She could see he was trying to stay calm, but he was still coming at her, putting on a show a reasonableness. "You are suffering from severe mental disorders. You are schizophrenic. Do you understand what that means?"

"All my friends are gone; they died!" Anzu's voice was rising over his. "Gonna take you down!"

She was approaching the windows, a chair was next to her and Anzu pulled it in front of her. She dragged the chair with her, keeping the doctor at a distance. More flashes of the memory of truth imparted by the woman she remembered came across her mind.

"Come along, Anzu, be a good girl, now." He was trying to get closer to her.

"They all screamed and cried! I'm gonna take you down!"

Glass was at her back. She knew that on this high floor of the hospital it was not the same glass they had on the psychiatric floor. There was no metal grillwork to prevent it from breaking or to keep people in. Only a crazy person would want to break these windows. She picked up the metal chair.

"I got my body, got my body back against the wall..." She continued singing at him.

Rage twisted his fine features and she could see his skin and hair turning black as his eyes became orbs of dark crimson. She spun around with all her might and threw the chair at the wall of glass. It shattered into hundreds of pieces as the chair sailed out and fell.

"Gonna take you down!" Anzu shrieked at him as she pulled the hospital smock from her at her chest, revealing the silver glint of her cartouche in the morning light.

Its secrets were known to them both. He stopped his human pretense and began to transform into his true visage, that of Inpu. Anzu turned from him and ran, her feet being pierced by shards that had fallen onto the building side from the glass, and leaped out the window. She could hear him bellowing in rage at her. She wrapped her hands around the symbol of her name and station.

"I am pure. I am pure. I am pure," she chanted in the ancient tongue, her back to the rising ground as the wind whipped through her hair. Anzu was no longer afraid. She remembered enough of what the woman had said to her.

"My pure offerings are the pure offerings of that great Benanu which dwell in Hensu. For behold, I am a keeper of Ma'at and a Queen of Kemet, beloved of Atemu, son of Akhenamkhanen. My akh is protected by that of my husband, who walks the world as a Son of Re. My heart has been weighed and found pure by Ma'at. Hear me! Hear me! Great Gods of Creation, older than even that of the Sun, lift this veil of lies created by the Gods Inpu and Seketh!"

Inpu was still giving chase, and His black and crimson robes whipped behind him from the force of the wind. He had come very close to Anzu during her chanting, and His hands were almost near enough to grab her. She could hear Him screaming down curses upon her, but she stared down the God of Tuat.

As the ground approached, she heard Him call upon His Father and the visage of Setekh joined Him. The Night God was faster than the Tuat God, and Setekh made quick gains toward her. Anzu gulped and clasped tighter to her cartouche, praying for a miracle.

"Atemu... protect me..."

Arms found their way around her waist from behind, and she let her head fall back against Atemu's shoulder. She felt the wind no longer at her back. Instead, she could feel the warm chest of her husband.

"With my soul."

Darkness closed in on the two pairs, until nothing remained of the false New York.


	35. Named

They continued to fall into darkness. Atemu's arms were wrapped tightly around Anzu's waist. He feared if he let go, he would lose her again. It had taken all of the power of Mana and Mahado to send help, and they all had already been heavily weakened by the events in the tomb. He could not let her face the mental torments of Inpu on her own. He had promised to keep her safe, and even if it would risk himself to do so, he would. The only thing that mattered to Atemu now was that her soul be safe from the mechanizations of the Dark Gods.

He was holding her, and she was safe as long as they were together. Nothing would ever tear them apart. Anzu knew this deep in her heart of hearts, buried where only he could cast a light upon. It did not matter to her if they fell forever as long as she was with him, she could bear anything thrown her way. She was safe with him, but she knew where she did not want to look that if it came down to it, she would sacrifice herself for his safety. This had already been proven.

Wind continued to whip pass them as they fell deeper into the emptiness around them. She could no longer see Inpu or Setekh above them. Feeling more confident that They were gone, she twisted slightly so she could place her head over Atemu's chest. Anzu clung against him, and the flapping of his cloak was the only sound. At some point during their fall, her clothing had changed from the hospital garment to a thin, linen gown similar to what she wore when she set out for his tomb.

"Atemu, is everything over now? Are we safe? What happened?" It seemed the wind was trying to steal her words away.

Arms tightened around her. "A test. A singular one or one of many, I don't know yet. Inpu has challenged your right to Aaru because of the use of Aset's magic."

She frowned. "What did I do wrong? I thought I did it right. Wait... the Millennium Tome was written by the Goddess of Magic?"

"Yes." It was a tight-lipped answer.

Anzu was quiet for a long while. They continued to fall through the void.

"Atemu... Back there, I saw that Inpu was using the those I knew against me. That would mean they are dead, right? And, He called for His Father. From what I can remember what Mariku and Ishtar told me, that is not a very good situation."

He sighed, and she could feel his nod against her head. "You are correct, He has called forth His Father from the Night. As to those you know, I do not know what has happened."

"Am I dead as well?"

"You are with me. That is all that we can continue to hope for." He avoided her question, but his words were heavy with the implication.

"In the mental hospital," she continued, unease growing in her as they continued to fall, "I saw the Black Magician Girl, then Mana. She gave me back my cartouche. It saved me from fearing that my sanity was lost and everything was just a dream."

"That was our doing, yes. I asked Mahado and Mana to help me. When..." She could hear his voice shifting to anger. "When Inpu and Setekh attempted to deny you rightful entrance to Aaru, Ma'at stated that Inpu could test you because you had usurped His domain by summoning me from the dead. I feared for you and what He might do. I fear still on what will happen next."

At that, the atmosphere began to shift and change, purple-black clouds appeared around them. Anzu stiffened as a creeping, ice-cold sensation crawled up her spine. This was what it was like when a Game of Darkness, Shadow Game, was called into existence. How could it be that they were falling into one. She clung tighter to Atemu, forcing herself to keep her eyes open.

"Atemu... is this..." She was starting to shake from the chill. She had never felt this when alive. It was piercing the soul deeper than anything.

"Yes, we are falling into Tuat. That is why nothing stops our way. That is why they are not pursuing us. We have been falling all this time into the darkness, into the shadows. Tuat. Hell." Anger and fear both melded into his words. She could feel him tightening his grip around her.

Their speed seemed to be increasing and now a garish, violet-tinged red landscape began to form around them. Jutting mountains and cliffs appeared and sounds of screams rose up from below. Atemu glanced over his shoulder and saw that the ground had appeared and was rising fast. He grasped Anzu's legs and pulled her against in a fetal position. She struggled for a moment against his grasp but he held onto her tight.

"I will keep you safe from harm." He vowed to her, his voice like whisper against the growing wail of noise around them.

Anzu was shaking in his arms, wanting to pull away. "But not at the cost of your existence! Atemu!" She screamed out.

He shouted back, "No! I will protect you until I am no more!"

Curled into a fetal position over him, she knew he intended to take the brunt of their landing on himself. Fear raced through her veins as she tried not to think of what would happen when the horrible, eventual ground would find them. What was small, had become large as they plunged pass sharp rock formations and unscalable cliffs.

It came. The sudden stop arrived and they bounced up for a moment before coming to a stop. Anzu could feel the earth jarring through his and her bones. Atemu cried out in pain, and she joined him with her fear. He coughed once, then twice, and she felt something warm splash on her forehead. Reaching to wipe her face, her hand came back covered in his blood. Her eyes were wide as she saw his very red blood on her hand. She rolled off of him immediately and crouched over him.

"Atemu! Atemu!" He wasn't responding. Fear drove her into a frenzy.

"Atemu! Atemu! Atemu!!" She shook him. He was silent and his eyes were closed. No, no, no her mind screamed so loud she couldn't hear the howling winds and screams that were around them. People were approaching them, or something like it, she could see them in the corners of her eyes, but none of that matter. Aznu shook him again.

"Atemu! Please! No!" She was shrieking it now. He wasn't moving.

Hands were grabbing at her arms and trying to pull her away. Anzu began to kick and punch at her jailers. Putrid flesh assaulted her senses, their rot was coming off onto her skin and staining her clothing with black muck. They easily broke under her blows, but there were so many of them and Atemu was just laying there. Their maws were wide open, drool dripped over their chins and onto the ground.

A feeling in her heart grew, and at the same time descended to her plexus and ascended to her forehead. It was like a ball of energy was expanding inside her at once into a rod of power, and she recognized it as the same feeling of Heka from the tomb. Feeling like there was nothing left to hold onto, Anzu released herself to it. Her eyes closed as a blinding silver light exploded from her body. She heard the creatures around her screeching out in pain, and she smelled them burning. She fell to the ground and felt her consciousness slip away from her. It didn't matter anyways, she thought to herself, nothing did if somehow Atemu was not with her anymore.

"Marik," Ishizu said to her brother as the group was loading themselves into the Ishutarus' car and an additional rented car, "The storm is becoming worse, and it feels more than connected to Anzu now. Can you feel it?"

She was standing cross-armed at a pillar, her face turned toward the storm. Earlier, the tornado had dissipated, but in its place were high winds that were bending and snapping palms and whipping frothy waves upon the river. He had joined her just moments ago, his patience thin from the conflicting personalities of Kaiba, Yugi, and Jonouchi. It looked like Kaiba was going to rent his own car at this point, rather than continue to deal with them.

Mariku nodded to her. "Yes, something seems off. Almost like... Do you remember when the Games of Darkness were invoked? That sense of a cut in reality? It feels like that. The sadness is gone, only this cut feeling remains."

Above them, the sky was turning a sickly shade of green. Lightning continued to flicker from cloud to cloud, and occasional drops of rain would fall. A white Porsche pulled up to the loading area, and a man in a concierge coat ran up to Kaiba with the keys. Brother and sister couldn't help their smirks as he accepted the keys and called Mokuba over. Both of them entered the car. Ishizu's cell phone rang.

"You can follow us when we leave," she said into and snapped the phone shut.

"Ishizu," Mariku said suddenly as they watched the last person loaded up and Rishid gave them a wave to come over.

"Yes?" She replied, they were walking over to their car.

"I might be able to help... I remember several of the spells that Anzu and I studied." He was guarded with his words and did not want to risk her ire over this secret knowledge.

She shook her head. "Pray to all the Gods that we do not need to know those spells."

Mariku bowed his head, and then opened the door for her. She was to sit in the middle between him and Rishid. Behind them, Otogi, Yugi, and Rebecca. The other car contained Yugi's grandfather, Jonouchi, Mai, Shizuka, and Bakura. Kaiba had his white Porsche with Mokuba. Rishid raised his hand out his window to indicate they were going.

Rishid asked Ishizu and Mariku, "Do you think the ferries will be running after the tornado?"

"Life must continue. A few will be running, and they will be extremely expensive to travel on to the West Bank," Ishizu replied.

Their convey made their way along El Matar through fields of summer crops. Traffic was non-existent, many people had retreated indoors after the rain and tornado. Over the western horizon ahead of them, the sun was making its way downward and its light was a hellish shade of red that streaked from the distance through the rolling black clouds overhead.

"Ishizu," Yugi asked her from the backseat, "Anzu... wrote some... strange things in what she sent me in her journals. Is it true? My partner is..."

She frowned and looked up into the rear view mirror. He would never have quite the same hard lines in his eyes as the Pharaoh, but their resemblance was striking. "Does anyone else know the contents of what she sent you?"

He shook his head. Rebecca and Otogi stared out their windows, trying to pretend they weren't listening.

"Did you bring the journals with you?"

He nodded.

"We'll discuss it with everyone when we get to the hotel." Her tone was clear she would not talk on it further.

Rebecca tapped her fingers on her armrest on the driver's side. It bothered her that he refused to discuss the contents of what was in those notebooks. He had given a small summary that it had to do with his partner, but nothing more. At one point, she had been a rival against Anzu for Yugi's affections. After they returned from Egypt, it seemed Anzu had backed away and eventually, he began to date the younger woman. Now, they were recently engaged. She played with her ring, trying to keep her thoughts positive and jealousy toned down.

On the other side of the car, Otogi was lost in his own thoughts. When he had heard that Atemu was involved with Anzu being in Egypt, he could guess why. It tormented him to know that Shizuka and Honda were married. He also could never forget that one night. Otogi understood why Anzu would face anything for Atemu, because he would do the same for Shizuka, even if she has pledged her life to another man.

In the car behind them, conversations were much lighter as Mai pointed out the landscape and tried to keep everyone a bit more cheered up with talk of sightseeing. Jonouchi kept smiling and he and Honda would trade fake punches with one another. Bakura ended up with driver duty, but he didn't mind. Keeping focused on the car in front of him kept him from thinking about the one behind him.

Mokuba and Kaiba rode in silence. Mokuba was watching the world move by outside his window and the darkness was deepening around them. He knew that his brother probably will not forgive him for this trip anytime soon, but at least he had gotten on board with it, if just to thumb his nose at an international government. Still, they did owe Anzu for the times she had been there for Mokuba and even Kaiba.

Soon, their convey was approaching eastern bank of the Nile River. The waters were reflecting back the dark skies above it and waves crashed on the shore. Most of the lights by the tethered ferries were out, but Ishizu pointed to one that still was lit. They drove up to its loading dock, and Rishid rolled down his window to speak with the ferryman who had approached the curb.

After agreeing to a price ten times the normal rate for crossing the river, all three cars were granted passage and loaded on the ferry. The boat had seen better days, but it appeared well-maintained. However, their boatman appeared slightly worse for the wear. His skin was like tight leather over gaunt limbs, but he wore a fine robe of white linen and a tightly wrapped turban in matching material. As he drove the boat, he sang out loudly in Egyptian Arabic.

"His song sounds so mournful," Shizuka commented. Her light reddish-brown hair was blowing in the wind, and she had to keep pulling it out of her eyes.

Rishid had joined Honda and Shizuka a few moments ago and nodded at her comment. "It is. It is a song about two people who loved one another, but they were across the great river and their families forbade them to be together."

She looked down at the water below them. "Oh... Did they ever get to be together?"

"It depends on how you view it." He replied, his golden eyes looking toward the west. "Rather than be apart, they dared the river to be with one another. Unfortunately, they died in the crossing, but they were found washed upon the shore with their arms around one another."

"That's terrible!" Shizuka exclaimed. Honda glanced up from his meditation of the waves.

Rishid turned and looked at her head on, she shrank back slightly from his intense stare. "For us, those who follow the old beliefs, there is more beyond what you and I would call life. Death is a beginning of a rebirth. If those two were lucky enough, they found each other on the other side. Their hearts would be together."His intensity vanished as quickly as it came.

Honda laughed slightly and wrapped an arm around his wife. "Rishid, please, my wife has a very sensitive and pure heart. Your ghost story might scare her."

"Is it just a story?" His voice was too low for them to hear, and more-so he was asking himself that question and not them.

Over the horizon, the sun was an orb of blood red as sands rose up to obscure its setting. A sandstorm was forming and heading toward Luxor. Rishid excused himself from the couple, making his way back to the bow. Ishizu and Rishid silently watched the sun disappear.

Something was shaking her, but she didn't know what. Anzu mumbled, all she wanted to do was sleep away her heavy heart. They had fallen into what could only be the Egyptian hell, and Atemu had taken the brunt of the blow. Seemingly from far away, she could hear her name being called. She slowly opened her eyes and saw black strands of hair tinged with magenta over her.

"Anzu, wake up." Atemu was trying to wake her.

She let him pull her into a sitting position, and she took stock of him and their surroundings. His face was still covered in dust and blood, but around them, corpses of some sort of manlike creature were around them. Reddish light came from the phosphorescent stones that made up the walls of the canyon around them.

"Atemu, what happened? Are you okay? I thought... I thought..." She broke off, her voice choking up as she burst into tears.

"Shh... shh..." He tried to soothe her.

He hurt all over. While the fall wouldn't kill him, it made pain a whole new type of experience. His back had taken the brunt of the descent. Atemu was also worried about Anzu and what would be in store for them next. In addition, something had happened while he had been unconscious. Corpses of one of the devouring creatures of the underworld surrounded them.

"I'm going to be fine." He told her, trying to give her a smile. "It'll take more than a fall to cause me to disintegrate."

Wiping at her puffy eyes, Anzu asked him. "If we're dead, how can we still feel? How could you … bleed?"

Pulling her closer to him, Atemu answered, "As you know, the funerary rituals of Kemet are meant to give the deceased life. However, the underworld and being a spirit are not what you might have heard them to be and what is considered a common belief. There is..." He frowned, trying to find the right word to describe what he was explaining. "There is a separate reality of being. My people have always known this and been aware, in part to our connections with the Gods."

"Like Pharaoh being of the line of Re?" She tried to grasp at the most likely related concept she had on hand.

"Yes, like that, which is in fact a truth." Atemu ran his fingers through her hair. "In death, we live, so as in life, we live. Separation is the veil that is guarded. A Divinely-erected barrier that is supposedly impossible for the living and dead to cross through to each other. I wonder if they..."

Anzu was trying not to be confused, but it was a lot to absorb at once. She watched his hand move from her strands of hair to rest over her heart.

"I wonder if they ever considered that the heart and will would be more powerful." Atemu finished, gazing into her eyes.

She could only watch him, suddenly captured by his intensity. Like hard amethyst illuminated by the sun, his eyes burned into hers. Anzu's lips parted, and she saw his focus shift to them. Tears still shone on her cheeks. Their trails making their way to her chin, and Atemu's hand wiped them away with a gentle caress of his thumb.

"Death..." he whispered to her, "does not stop the heart. Not when ours..."

Atemu tilted her face upward, and she closed her eyes as his lips descended upon hers. Anzu lost herself in his kiss. Regardless of what might come, regardless if they were currently trapped in some hellish plane, regardless of the future, nothing could break this. She could feel it with all her soul as their arms wrapped around one another. Life, death, what did it all mean anyway. After a few moments, they broke the kiss.

"Atemu..." Anzu softly murmured. The her eyes caught movement coming from the distance. "Atemu!" Her tone had transformed into one of fear as she caught sight of bestial half-forms dragging themselves toward them. These were similar to the corpses that were around them.

He snapped his head around to see what her frightened eyes were focused upon and cursed under his breath. These were spawn of those who had failed the test of the Scales and were confined to Tuat for eternity. Their existence was that of constant pain, and these particular ones craved to consume the essence of the pure. There would be no time to rest or to explain to Anzu what these were. He pulled them both up to a standing position, trying not to wince from his wounds. She offered him her support and he took it gratefully.

"We need to get away from these creatures," he told her in an imperative tone.

She nodded and looked around, they were trying to close in on them but there was an opening ahead of them. As quickly as possible, they made their way out of the canyon and through the reddish haze of the area. Fortunately, whatever those things were, they were not fast but the sounds of the slithering their bodies over the rocks made her feel queasy.

Eventually, they could no longer hear them behind them but the landscape had not changed. High, red rock surrounded them on both sides and the ground they walked upon was dusty and a similar shade. Overhead, nothing but purple-veined blackness broken up by red fog. The atmosphere around them was hot and dry, and the air tasted stale on the tongue. Anzu wondered if they would every find their way out of this place.

Atemu gained his strength back over time, and he was now walking without assistance. He held Anzu's hand tightly in his as they walked. Scanning the region for any signs of change, he could feel frustration rising in him when he found none. He couldn't help feeling that they were not going to be left in peace, even if they were now in Tuat.

"Atemu, over there." Anzu pointed out a something new. A set of stairs that went into the fog.

Frowning, Atemu responded, "We have no choice but to take them to where they lead."

Together they began to ascend the steps leading into the darkness above them. Atemu could not shake the feeling that something was watching them.

"Father," Inpu bowed before Setekh, "they have started ascending the stairs of My underworld temple and will reach Us in due time."

Sitting upon Inpu's throne was His Father. Black tendrils rolled along His limbs and sought out cracks in the walls like so many snakes aching to be free of their cage. Inpu had kept quiet but inside He was seething that His Father was taking such liberties with His Own sanctuary.

Setekh responded with sibilant slithers, "Excellent. This little game is turning useful for My purposes. The mortal bitch that vexes You has actually done some damage to the continuity. Not enough that it would rend the world asunder on its own, but with enough of a nudge..."

An image of Kemet appeared in front of Setekh, and Inpu watched as He blew His breath from west to east upon it. In response, the picture appeared to now have a giant sandstorm appearing on it. The epicenter of the activity was over the burial grounds of old.

"What do You plan to due with this temporary rift, Father?" Inpu asked, though He had a feeling the answer.

"I never did like how I was forced to accept defeat to My Siblings' bastard and forced to give up My ownership of Deshret. Those Red Lands were Mine to do as I pleased, not what They wanted."

Inpu remained silent.

"The rift created by the foolish girl's tampering is where the divide was and remains. I plan to use it to force Aset and Asar to give My lands back. Already, the land suffers from the forces in play." He began to laugh as He ran His finger through the middle of the Nile, causing waters to flood either side of its banks.

Huge, red stone columns rose on either side of Anzu and Atemu. Their carvings and hieroglyphs appeared to have just been done the day before, so sharp was their relief upon the surface. She was in slight awe of the ancient Tuat temple. Predominant of the figures was that of the jackal and related symbolism to Inpu. Atemu kept her slightly behind him as they crossed the threshold of the entrance.

"Careful here, beloved," Atemu told her.

She could tell he was continuously scanning around them for danger. Anzu nodded and followed his lead. She worried for their safety in this place as the temperature began to drop the further they went inside. Rubbing her arms, she paused to look at one of the images. It was almost grotesque in its design and rivers of blood ran across the land. She could recognize the symbols for Thebes and other parts of Upper Egypt. Looking around, Anzu realized that Atemu had continued ahead and she ran to catch up with him.

Atemu was standing near a doorway that caused his shadow to cast far behind him, the spikes of his hair and jewels created a skeletal seeming second image. It was through this that Anzu ran to catch up to him. Her steps were louder than his, and he could hear the voices beyond subtly change the subject. He had figured that the pair he was eavesdropping on was Inpu and Setekh. However, he could not figure out what the two Gods were discussing. It was like They were purposely dropping seeds to their conversation.

Racing up behind him, she came up short when he turned with his index finger over his lips. She shrank against him when she could hear whatever was beyond approaching them. Anzu saw Atemu sigh and simply pull her up to stand side by side with her. He led them into the faint light and she gasped when she saw the Jackal God and Chaos God together. They had been the ones approaching, and They did not appear surprised by their presence in the slightest.

Setekh began to intone something in a language similar to the Ancient Egyptian, but Anzu could not determine exactly what He was saying. Atemu looked surprised though. Behind Setekh, Inpu stood with a heavy, braided leather flail in His hand. Faint glows began to materialize around them. As they solidified, Anzu immediately recognized Aset and Ma'at. The two Goddesses were flanked by others of the pantheon. Atemu scowled at the sudden presences.

"Bear witness, Great Ma'at, I accuse the sundering of Kemet upon the one named Anzu Mazaki." Setekh announced, pointing his finger at Anzu.

"What!" Atemu and Anzu cried out.

Ignoring them, He continued, "She cannot pass from Tuat to Aaru because she has let loose plagues upon the land from her ineptitude."

"She passed Inpu's test!" Aset interjected, striding toward Her dark Brother.

Inpu glared at Atemu and pointedly said, "With help, that she should not have received."

The Magic Goddess counted His statement. "There was no rules stipulating that she could not receive assistance."

"Silence!" Ma'at demanded and then calmly continued. "She is correct. Inpu, You did not specify that Pharaoh Atemu and his loyal magicians could not help Anzu Mazaki."

Everyone became silent and Anzu wished she could disappear. She did not feel good about this, something in her gut told her that the darker gods were playing some sort of game. There had to be more to this than just Atemu helping her in her trial. Her blue eyes flickered back and forth between all the deities present. If the world knew the truth again of the pantheon, she wondered what would happen.

Finally, Inpu spoke again, his voice ringing across the temple. "Regardless, there is more to this than a mortal attempting to usurp the laws of My domain."

"What do you mean?" Atemu demanded of the Tuat God. Aset's eyebrow rose at both the statement and the young Pharaoh's boldness.

"Her interference with the natural order has caused rifts to appear within Kemet, near Thebes," Setekh offered, His blood red eyes glowing in anticipation of His revelation. "By that very token, she has gravely insulted the land."

Aset threw Her arm back and proclaimed, "You speak madness, Brother."

Ignoring Her, Setekh turned all His attention toward Asar, Haru, and Ma'at. The one He had hoped to appear, did not, but it did not matter. "In addition, the crimes that Anzu Mazaki has committed were the direct result of Aset's hand involved in her affairs. How else could she find the key to the Millennium Tome?"

"You cannot be serious!" Asar strode forward to join His Sister and Wife.

"Do You not hear the people above us crying out in fear, Asar? Already the storms have started, and they are once again Your doing, Sister Aset."He was sinuous in His absoluteness.

Rage colored the features of Asar. "Brother! You cannot lay this blame at the feet of My Wife. How can You state that this is a terror of Her doing?"

"Your Wife, My Brother, is what set this plague upon Kemet! Not once, not twice, but thrice!" Setekh punctuated each word with images of Kemet's past plagues and stopping the views at what was happening in Luxor. The great sandstorm was rising to consume the city, and a sudden flood had crashed upon the shores, spilling through the streets and canals.

Aset, Anzu, and Atemu stared at the image in front of them in shock. Anzu spoke outloud before thinking, "This...this cannot be happening because of me."

"She could not have possibly altered the balance this much with an incomplete resurrection spell," Aset declared, turning Her silvery eyes away from the image.

Setekh continued to ignore His Sister, and pushed His Son aside, to stand in front of His Brother. His hot breath blew upon Asar's face as He slowly stated, "You and Your Family have failed in the guardianship of Kemet."

"What do You want, Setekh? What are You hoping to gain?" Asar stood His ground, refusing to back down from His Murderer.

"I deserve to have Deshert back." Setekh said this with a wave of His hand, the image focusing on the lands commonly known as Upper Egypt. "The Red Sands were mine until Re forced Me to hand them over to Your son, Haru. Obviously, You are incapable of keeping Your wife from meddling in mortal affairs."

"You would pave the way back to the old ways and blood would stain the sands of Kemet faster than any sort of natural disasters that might come from rift." Haru spoke up now, His fists were clinched at His side.

His slightly serpentine voice continued, "Do I not speak the truth? Her use of Aset's spells has created a rift."

"But it would not-" Aset tried to protest but was cut off.

Ma'at intervened, Her voice carrying over the Siblings' debate. "No, he is speaking truth. Anzu Mazaki's use of Your tome has created a rift."

"Your family must give back Deshert." Setekh triumphantly demanded.

A faint silverly glow began to outline Aset as Her anger rose at Setekh's accusations along with Ma'at's apparent support of them. "We-"

Atemu bowed his head, the golden decorations softly clinking together. He glanced back at Anzu, who looked at him confused. His heart was heavy with what must come, but he had a duty to keep Kemet safe that went on even into death. Striding to the arguing group and Ma'at, he interrupted the Divine.

"No, Aset did not give the key to Anzu. I stole the key. I am the thief of the secrets of Aset and should be punished." His voice rang out amid everyone gathered. Most of the pantheon present remained silent witnesses, but the quarreling Gods were silenced at his admission. Atemu added in a lower tone, his eyes staring at the horrific visage of Setekh, "No part of Kemet will not belong to You again."

Anzu gasped and ran forward, grabbing his arm. She cried out, "Atemu! No! I take the blame!"

"Anzu, please, you have done nothing wrong. I am the one who deserves to be punished." Shaking her hold off of him, he turned away from her. He didn't want his last vision to be of her sad eyes with tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Where did you get the key?" Ma'at spoke to Anzu, causing the attention of everyone gathered to focus on her.

"From...from... from Atemu..." She stammered this, not wanting to admit it but she felt compelled to do so. Anzu stared at the red dust on the stone floor, her heart was sinking rapidly.

Inpu laughed. Sarcastically, he resounded, "Ho! This is too much, a keeper of Ma'at, a son of Re, a Pharaoh stealing the secrets of the Gods?"

Aset looked like She was about to say something, but Atemu's violet eyes stared Her down. He quietly responded, "Aset, remember what You said."

Anzu could not believe what she was hearing when Aset, with a strange look on Her face, declared, "He... He is a thief."

"Then the soul of this Pharaoh is torn from Aaru. He will remained here to suffer the tortures of Tuat for all eternity for his crime against a God," Inpu triumphantly announced, He could not conceal the glee at this turn of events from His voice. Regardless, or maybe in spite of, the fact that this put a wrinkle in His Father's idea of taking advantage of this situation.


	36. Accounted

In the apartment that Ishizu and her siblings had taken up residence for the night, the others of the group were there with them as well. It was not spacious, but everyone had found a place to seat themselves. Mokuba sat on a couch with Sugoroku and Rishid, his brother Kaiba leaning against the arm with his hip. On the floor in front of Kaiba was Bakura, Otogi, Shizuka, and Honda. Rebecca and Mariku sat on dining chairs next to a table near Yugi, who was standing with Ishizu. Behind Ishizu, her siblings took up post against the wall. In his hands, Yugi held the last journals of Anzu.

Turning to him, Ishizu said, "Read what she has written of her life in those pages."

"In front of everyone?" Yugi had read most of them already and knew of the secrets she had kept from everyone.

"Are they not her friends as well? Should they not know the truths she kept hidden but has left behind?" Ishizu's eyes glowed with her determination.

Outside, the sand and wind battered the buildings and cityscape. They could hear it scraping against the glass panes of the window behind those on the couch. Kaiba glanced behind him to see that the street lights were but a faint globe of light in the pelting sand.

Shrugging, Kaiba offered. "Why not? It looks like we are not going anywhere for awhile." Everyone else followed his example and settled in for Yugi to read.

Shizuka looked at Ishizu, a cold fear wrapping itself around her heart. "Why were you referring to her in a past tense?"

Mariku and Ishizu looked down at their hands. Rishid gave a strangled cry. Words were not necessary.

Sitting down on the ground by his fiancée, Yugi turned open the first one and began to read. Ishizu silently gathered candles from her bag and set them around the room, lighting each one as she went. Silence from the others was palatable. No one knew what to expect next.

Shackles appeared on Atemu's wrists, heavy black iron with dragging chains. He kept his head bowed, he did not want Anzu to see the pain in his heart that he was going to have to leave her. However, at least now she would be safe he thought to himself. There was no way she could be continued denial of her entrance to Aaru, and with his soul sealed here, Setekh had no right to claim any part of Kemet. She had done all she could to reach to him, but that therein lied the crux and source of the rifts. It was fitting that he give himself up as the sacrifice for the so-called crime resulting from their love It didn't matter if he was here for all of eternity, he felt in his heart he could be buoyed from what will happen by the memory of crystalline blue shining in love and passion for him and him alone.

Yes, over time with his partner, he had learned of compassion and kindness to cure the ills of cold duty and justice, but he had never in that time let himself give in to his heart. He had never lied to Anzu when he told her that night before his and his partner's duel that if it had been another time where he could know peace and life, he would give himself to her. Atemu was almost sad that the time had come, and he only got to know hours with her. It would be enough, because those hours were what the sages and poets had always described. They were transcendent.

"I..." He said quietly from behind his bangs. "I accept my punishment."

Anzu screamed out and ran to him. "No!"

She fell to her knees before him and grabbed unto the tail of his tunic. Tears streamed from her eyes as she shook her head. Anzu could not let him sacrifice himself to this decree that was at its heart her own doing. If she had left alone the need to be with him, then he would not be standing here taking a punishment that she felt by right she should bear.

Turning toward Inpu and Setekh, she cried out to the Gods, "This punishment is not his to bear!"

"He has already accepted it, mortal," sneered Inpu.

Around the group, the other divine were fading, the drama ending and Their place no longer needed. They were satisfied that Setekh would not have a claim to hold any part of Kemet. Aset, Asar, and Ma'at remained, still as statues as they listened to Inpu and Anzu.

His bonds clinking together, Atemu tried to remove Anzu from him as he shook his head. "He is right, my wife. I have accepted the punishment, it is now mine to bear. Please, please go safely to Aaru."

"No," she said to him, turning to look up into his sad violet eyes. "I will not let you go alone."

Anzu stood back up and turned to face the remaining members of the delegation. Standing as straight as she could, she faced these beings whose powers could destroy and mend. It took her a moment as she swallowed, nervousness in her soul, for what she would do next.

"I am his wife, his queen. As a Queen of Kemet, it is my right to share in the burdens of my Pharaoh. I will share in his punishment for it is the result of his need to protect me that has brought this about."

Aset broke Her stance and strode over to Anzu. "Do not do this, young one. Your place is in Aaru now."

The Goddess of Magic was torn. She wanted to stop this from happening but if She intervened, then Setekh would have a claim to Kemet. When Atemu had come to Her for the key to Her spellbook, She thought it would be amusing to ruffle Inpu and Setekh. It was also why She had insisted when he took the gift that should he be caught with it, He had to claim himself as a thief. Yet, since then, She had stood watch over the couple. Aset saw much of Herself and ways in Anzu. She once, too, had gone against creed to save Asar. She just never knew that it would come this far.

Anzu looked at the pale Goddess, but her eyes were unfocused. Atemu was trying to shout over Anzu, to not let her do this. She was looking at Setekh, His red eyes were glowing brighter at the thought of her sacrifice.

"I will share in his punishment," she repeated again.

Shackles and chains appeared on her wrists, a set just like Atemu's. Cold iron on her bare skin caused her to shiver unconsciously. She could bear this she kept thinking to herself.

"Ma'at! No! Is there nothing You can do?" Asar yelled out to the Truth Goddess, trying to prevent the travesty before Him, but knowing that there was little that even He could do.

"They accept the terms of Inpu's punishment. There is nothing I can do to intervene." Then, She, too, faded away from Tuat without another word.

"Anzu... why?" Atemu whispered to his wife, his eyes were focused on the shackles she was now wearing.

Tears trailed down her cheeks. "I could not let you face the dark alone. You would not let me face it alone, and now, I will do the same."

"Begone, Aset! Asar! Leave My domain! Tuat is My sphere and responsibility, not Yours." Inpu called out to the pair remaining.

Glaring at Inpu, Aset went to Anzu and placed Her hand on her shoulder. Leaning close, She whispered to the young woman, "It is always darkest before the dawn."

Then the two gods faded in a flash of light, leaving Anzu and Atemu with Inpu and Setekh. Atemu joined Anzu, the couple awaited what would come next.

"I wish I could have reached out to everyone after Atemu left us," Yugi said, as he continued reading from Anzu's journal. In some ways it felt like an invasion to read it so openly, but Ishizu was right. They were all her friends. They had just read about the night before his and Atemu's final duel, and the conversation that took place at dawn between the pair.

"It was hard in those days. I felt so young and foolish. I mean, I was in love with someone who had no place in this current world. Who was now gone. Even if it was the right thing to happen, it still hurt and it still didn't make it right in my mind.

"I remember Shizuka trying to get me to be more open and flirty. She would call me each evening, and I did try, but it was always a disaster. No one could compare with the mark left upon me by Atemu. And then, school was ending. We would all have new opportunities. I had studied hard, practiced every move, and had the chance to go to New York. Juilliard had accepted me!

"I also thought, that maybe if I went far away from everyone, including you my old friend, that the memories of Atemu would fade away. It was just... so hard some days to look at you and not try to replace you with Atemu. I am sorry. I am also sorry for the way I pushed you away, but I know that you are happier now. If... if I had not, then we both would have been living with a ghost in our hearts and that would have caused only pain.

"Taking everything I could, against my parents' wishes, I boarded a flight to America and went to New York. I know I would have had a comfortable life had I remained in Domino City, but I wanted to follow my dreams and escape the past. Maybe, just maybe if I knew what would happen in the nearly two years I spent in New York, I might not have gone."

With a snap of His fingers, Inpu had sent Anzu and Atemu to a darkened chamber. Above them, a small circle of reddish light cast hazy illumination. Each was chained to a cross-beamed wooden frame. They had some freedom of movement, notably their legs remained unchained, but the chains at their wrist were just short enough to prevent them from being able to sit down. They would cause their entire body to stretch out and keep them at an inch's distance from the hard ground. In addition to this restriction, while they were facing one another, the distance between them was enough that they came also within an inch of each other when painfully stretched against the chains. They had been down there for what seemed to be an hour or so.

Anzu sighed. "Atemu, what do you think will happen to us?"

"I don't know." He looked up at the only source of light. "We may be only here a few more moments or forgotten for eons. It will depend upon the whims of Inpu and by extension Setekh."

"It's so quiet in here, there are no other sounds but us. It's... disturbing." Not even an echo returned her voice.

Atemu looked around, trying to discern what was around them but any walls were lost in the darkness beyond the small shaft of light descending from above. No drops, no echoes, just the sound of their voices and clinks of their chains. She was right, it was disturbing.

Yugi kept reading Anzu's journal. She described the initial joys of living in a new place but there was one piece should could not let go, her cartouche.

"I was in my third month at Juilliard when another classmate noticed it. She thought it was kind of funny for a Japanese girl to be wearing such an Egyptian piece. In a way, I had forgotten that I wore it always. I had worn it since I gave its sister to Atemu when we did not know his name. She teased me about it being a gift from a boyfriend, but I told her that it never went that far. Of course, she was curious but I didn't want to share those moments, yet. There were my last pieces of Atemu and were buried deep in my heart.

"I had decided then, that I had to try to move forward. I still couldn't remove my piece of memory, but I was going to try to live in this world. I began to ruthlessly date. Yet, my memories of Atemu would become stronger, and I could not continue on a second date with any of the prospective suitors. I suppose that is way Instructor Davien took an interest in me. I had quickly earned a reputation as untouchable in a school where sex and lust, pale visages of true love, ran rampant among the artistic.

"He offered me extra tutoring, and I, too blind and naive, saw this attention as only a great teacher wanting to help shape a student. I had thought myself special at that moment. He was a smooth talker. I failed to see our evenings together as dates. However, over the course of a month, he saw them as such and when he tried to push me forward... when I rejected him...

"When I rejected him, he was angry. He tried to take by force what I did not want to give. I think, that night, as I write it now, that he only wanted a kiss. I was so shocked by this, and immediately told him that it was not right. I added that maybe I should not continue our extracurricular excursions. I turned away from him to leave, and he grabbed me.

"Ripping my shirt from me, he threw me to the ground and called me all sorts of cruel names. I did not hold back and gave as good as he gave. He grabbed me again, slamming into the ground once more, but when he went to yank my necklace from me, I kneed him in the groin as hard as I could. He screamed at me, screamed and screamed that I would not continue at this school. I told him he was crazy and I would go to the principal.

"He made it to the school authorities first and was calm and cool, whereas I was impassioned and tearful. They believed him over me. They believed his lies that I had pursued him and been rejected, not the other way around. He claimed that he was trying to help a mediocre student who became attached to him. It was all lies, but my reputation was stained. I was reprimanded by the board. Within weeks of that day, I was later expelled. I was devastated. In a single moment, all my dreams had been shattered and for the first time, I did not feel that trying again would make a difference. Davien laughed when he personally delivered my expulsion notice."

Anzu could hear a strange whispering sound coming from the shadows. They had become silent after awhile, there was nothing they could say at the moment. It was not an awkward silence, but it had not been comfortable, only mutual. They had been waiting from something to happen, anything. She lifted her head up to look around, and the sound of her movement caused Atemu to look up as well.

"Atemu," she whispered, almost afraid to be louder, "do you hear that whispering noise?"

He looked around and shook his head. "I still hear nothing."

Confused, she could swear the sound was becoming more clear. "Are you sure? I can hear it better now."

He strained against his chains to try get to Anzu, to see if the sound she was describing was coming from behind her, but he was still limited by the length of his bonds. Atemu was growing concerned that she was hearing something that he couldn't hear. Was this the beginning mark of what Inpu was planning to do to them? He wasn't sure in this place. Then he could hear something. It was a strange whispering noise that was barely outside the range of hearing.

Across from Atemu, Anzu was now seeing a form take shape behind him. She squinted her eyes at it, staring just beyond her husband's shoulder. Anzu could feel Atemu wondering what she was looking at in the darkness.

"I... I see something behind you," she said, her normal speaking voice cracked slightly from disuse.

He turned, but darkness greeted his eyes. There was nothing there. He turned back to look at her, to tell her there was nothing to be seen. Yet, her eyes were now wide open in abject fear. That was when he noticed something forming behind her. Whatever was there was hazy still and he could not make out any details. The whispering in his head was becoming stronger.

"Anzu, Anzu, what do you see?" He asked her.

"D...D...Davien... he... he was the one who... ruined..." Her voice trailed off into silence.

Stuttering was uncharacteristic for her, Atemu was more worried for her than himself and tried to get her to focus. "Anzu, Davien ruined what?"

Tears trickled down her face as she looked back toward Atemu. "He was the one who ruined my dreams."

Behind Anzu, Atemu could now see who was appearing and striding toward them. It was the mirage of Bakura, King of Thieves.

"After the expulsion, I lost hope. I did not want to return to Domino City a failure. I did not want my parents to find out that my dancing goals had been dashed. I did not want you or any of our friends to know that I had failed. Desperate, and running out of the stipend my parents supplied for my education, I found my way into a strip club called Dancing Dolls.

"I felt like I was just a doll at this point. Men wanted to just use me and manipulate me. Davien taught me that, and that he could easily crush me. Maybe, I might have some control over it if I... So I danced for them and let them slip their crushed dollars bills with nicotine-stained fingers into my costumes. Really, it was just lingerie.

"I despaired. I was alone in my heart. I had become a stripper out of desperation. On the television, they show it as a glorious lifestyle, and I suppose for some it is, if they are fortunate and stronger-willed, but this was anything but glorious. Every morning, I couldn't seem to get the grime off my skin no matter how hot the water.

"Diamond, who in her own way was being a friend, encouraged me to drink more while on the floor. I learned to not stumble, but I was completely intoxicated. Eventually, I started drinking more and more at home. Soon, I was adding in pain-killers and other prescriptions that I would buy from the girls in the back. Regardless of this mind-altered state I was in, I did keep to some of my beliefs. What little they were when compared against what I was doing to myself and the lies to everyone back home."

Jonouchi looked torn, and Mai was holding onto his hand, trying to give him her strength. Then he spoke, interrupting Yugi from reading further, "She could have told us. We wouldn't have judged her."

"We would have helped her, brought her home. Anzu never harshly judged us for anything we did," Honda added.

Mokuba spoke up next. "She would always take the time to read my emails with my stupid problems, give me advice, and I never knew this happened to her." He frowned, and Kaiba glanced at him slightly surprised.

"Not everyone has had that moment and time in their lives where..." Mai said, her voice slightly hesitant, "Where they feel there is nothing that can fix their road and their goals are nothing. I can relate to why she didn't want to share this burden with anyone. I have been there, and I have hurt those I love by the actions resulting from that belief."

Wrapping his arm round her, Jonouchi pulled Mai close to him and nodded. "However, anyone can come back from their own darkness... but it takes more than just themselves. Mai and I have learned this... together."

Yugi and Rebecca nodded, they only knew part of the story of how Mai and Jonouchi were able to get together. Yugi could remember the darkened look when Jonouchi told him he couldn't give him any more details because that would violate Mai's trust in him. Even now, the couple across from them had the image of a darkened memory in their eyes.

"Worthless slut. Second-rate dancer. You know that is what you are and will always be."

She shook her head against the accusation that mirrored what she saw of herself in her heart. Davien's voice cut through her mind like a sharp knife and left sorrow welling from the wound. Earlier, she had felt strong and worthy but with this appearance, that visage had been completely blown away.

"You're not real! You're a figment!" She shouted back at him.

Atemu was distracted by the appearance of the Thief King, confused by Anzu yelling at empty air. He could hear his own apparition laughing at him.

"Pharaoh, she sees what she sees. You cannot save her or yourself from this." His voice was exactly the same timber as when Atemu first met him. Mocking and belligerent in the same breath.

"Who are you really?" Atemu growled at him, he did not like this game.

Bakura threw his red cloak back. Pointing to his chest and then the scar below his right eye. "I am Bakura," he said with a smirk.

Atemu hummed in his throat. "So, I see that you did go to hell."

"Only the best, but you are here now, too. I am going to enjoy the thousands of years we will have together. Old times to catch up with each other, a fresh nubile bride for me to ravish, and you all chained up with nothing you can do about it." Bakura reached over to flick at the chains binding Atemu to the posts. Behind the manifestation of the Thief King, Atemu could hear Anzu's panicked cries with her unseen tormentor.

"You should have been glad that I even took an interest in such a low-born cunt as yourself," Anzu's former instructor purred at her.

She shrank back from him, feeling the wood of the post behind her through the linen gown she was wearing. Anzu couldn't stop shaking her head. This was the man who generated her breaking point. It was after him that all the horrible things began to happen to her life. Drinking, drugs, and the battering of her self-esteem by doing things she never thought she would do. Like a caged animal, she fought at her bindings to try to run from Davien.

He was so close she could feel his breath on her face when he spoke again, "You can't keep running, bitch. Your Pharaoh cannot save you anymore. You made sure of that with your stupidity."

Bakura chuckled again and casually turned to face the Pharaoh next to him and said, "What do you think? Think she'll still be sane in another hour or so? I wonder what will happen to her. It must be terrible to just have to stand here and watch this."

"Fuck off, Thief," Atemu snarled back, "She's stronger than you are giving her credit for."

What was she facing he could only guess at. He knew that she had experienced some tough and lonely years after leaving everyone behind. It was the result of those nights that brought them back together. But, they had left their mark on her. It was when she had given up all hope that he had found himself thrust to her and witnessing her attempt at suicide. He watched her struggling with her own demons, feeling helpless and unable to save her this time.

Davien had reached her, and she struggled to get away from him. Anzu knelt down against the post where her chains bound her, curling up into a small ball. Her heart struggled against the words he was saying. Her self-worth, a reflection of who she was, and all that she had been through was slowly being snuffed out by his assault of words.

"No, get away from me! This... this..." Anzu struggled to fight against this, but the guilt in her heart was overwhelming her.

"You lied to everyone, including yourself. You are worthless, nothing, and just a slut to be used." Davien continued his verbal assault, standing over kneeling form. "You're on your knees, where you belong, Anzu."

Yugi's voice wavered when he read about Anzu's assault the night she had been given a so-called promotion at the strip club. Tears fell down his eyes as he was compelled to continue revealing her thoughts that she had when she had swallowed the pills and drank the alcohol to amplify their affect, so she could die. Her loneliness and pain in her heart, and then, her shock upon seeing Pharaoh Atemu, his former other self. He could hear the near silent weeping of the women in the room and gasps of anger from Jonouchi and Honda, and all the others. He stopped reading to wipe his eyes.

Jonouchi spoke in the sudden stillness. "Yugi, why didn't she tell us? Why couldn't she... We..."

"A woman's heart... is complicated. We..." Mai was the one to answer, her voice soft. "We often see our imperfections first, then our good traits last. They threaten us and when we see the base instincts of people, notably men we felt should be trustworthy, even if every other man we have met is honorable and true that mark cuts us and causes us to question how we should be treated and what we really are."

He turned toward his girlfriend, remembering those same words she had yelled out to him a long ago night in the pouring rain. Mai's admittance of that had marked a turning point for them both, because then he was able to understand her drives much more clearly than before.

Kaiba was silent, absorbing the loneliness and despair from Anzu's story. He could offer no words to the others. The girl he remembered had always been so hopeful. So much so, that she dared to defy him on more than one occasion by trying to show him her perceived error of his ways.

Swallowing the sob in his throat, Bakura tried to remain stoic but he knew what Mai was describing. It was in his heart as well. That loneliness and judgment, which threatened his life at night when he would awake from nightmares. At first, he had not remembered what he had done when taken over by evil of his own Millennium item, but over time, and in his dreams, he had. He had vowed to never let any of them know. Somehow, he remembered what she had written to him, Anzu had perceived this self-loathing.

Mokuba frowned and responded, "I would not have blamed her for what happened."

"Can you be so certain, Mokuba?" Kaiba cut through the conversation.

All eyes turned upon him at once. He shrugged, but continued to look down at the ground in front of him, ignoring their angry stares.

"Can any of us be so certain we would be forgiving, if during the moment, she had called for help? It is easy to forgive her for what happened at her school, but what about if she called saying she was working at this Dancing Dolls? Would we still have her on a pedestal as you did when in high school?" Kaiba frowned and became silent.

"Damn it, Kaiba!" Jonouchi exclaimed, "Do you always have to be like this? Such an asshole?"

To the group's surprise, Bakura was the one to defend Kaiba. "He is being realistic. He is right... would we so easily forgive her then as we are willing now?"

Anzu felt Davien pull her head back by her hair, the golden crown of the queen falling from her to clatter on the ground nearby. She thought she could hear Atemu shouting something, but he was so far away from her. Besides, she was worthless. He deserved a true queen and that was not her. If she had any of those traits, she would not have pursued this course of action that now had them both accursed. Davien was right, she was nothing. She looked up into her attacker's black eyes and gaunt, thin face, tears falling from her eyes.

"Anzu!" Atemu cried out to her.

Something had changed in her demeanor. She was no longer fighting back whatever was there. He could see a shimmer of a figure in front of her, but it was just out of sight. Next to him, the Thief King laughed.

"Shall I reveal to you what she will do next? How she will relive her night before you came back to try to save her?" The originating Bakura offered with a sneer.

He waved his hand in front of Atemu, and then it revealed a tall, skinny man with a dancer's frame. He was dressed head-to-toe in black and currently his hand was buried into the top of Anzu's black hair, pulling her head up and back. His other hand had fallen to his belt, and he began to unbuckle it.

"Anzu! Anzu! No, don't let him do this to you! Anzu! Fight back." Atemu cried out in anguish.

He could hear her sobbing to herself, "Worthless... worthless..."

The Thief King whispered in his ear, "You can't save her. You never could. How can someone who has never truly lived his own life, save another's? You even admitted to being a thief, like me, but you never did the crime. You just thought you could save her again. You were made for each other, worthless and sinful."


	37. Reverberated

"Mana, I am concerned about Pharaoh and his queen," Mahado said to his companion.

They were standing on a ridge that overlooked the blue Nile and kingdom offshoots in Aaru. A light breeze was blowing amid the reeds, but otherwise, it was silent. Occasionally, a large fish would leap from the river waves and descend once more into the blue depths. People lounged along the banks, some weaving baskets and others chatting animatedly.

Mana nodded to her teacher and lover. "The last we knew anything was after I brought Anzu's symbol to her in spirit and then... Pharaoh vanished, shouting out that she was calling him."

She sat down, putting her elbows on her knees while she cupped her chin. Mana frowned at the landscape in front of them. Everything had felt off since Atemu had left to get to Anzu. Blue was not quite the same blue as it was before. Even the air seemed to have some sort of stale quality to it. It was hard to put into words just how even if everything appeared the same, it was slightly off.

Mana pulled up a handful of sand and let the grains fall through her fist. They were caught by the light breeze and carried off. She watched as they began to float away toward the east, in front of her, but then the direction changed and they went behind her. It was then that she heard Mahado drop his _was_ staff. It clattered upon the ground, ignored as she joined her beloved to stare at the west.

"This has only happened once before... and recently... but not like this." Mahado said aloud.

Inky blackness stained the western skies and poured itself through the blue. It carried itself overhead of the pair of magicians and blotted out the eastern sun. Mahado and Mana clung to one another as they watched the sky vanish and be replaced with a stygian shade that couldn't be considered night. Darkness covered Aaru.

"Mahado, what is happening?" Mana whispered as she laid her head on his chest.

He wrapped his arms around her, viewing the darkened landscape that was once bright Aaru. Below them, the river began to swell and flood its banks. They could see people running in all directions, confused by the sudden change. This was a land where everything was the same. A place of tranquility. Now, it had been altered.

"I don't know," he murmured into her hair, his eyes dark in worry.

She looked up at him, "Could this be related to Pharaoh? Or his queen?"

Mahado frowned and nodded. "Yes, it is possible. Realize that the Gods Themselves are intertwined with their path. Some assisting, and others are hindering it. Like Setekh and Inpu..."

He let the implication hang on naming the two gods he felt were the source of this problem.

"Setekh has always wanted a piece of Kemet and Aaru for his own. It has been a source of contention since beyond our days," Mana said, filling in his unspoken insinuation. "Could this be the result of Their interference?"

"That was what I was thinking,"Mahado replied.

Staying within the comfort of her beloved's arms, Mana looked across the horizon. "What can we do?"

Anzu could hear the slither of his belt coming from his pants. Davien was wasting no time in getting what he wanted. Her heartbeat in her ears deafened her to any other sound. She could see his lips moving, but it was like she was watching from within someone else. This wasn't her. This couldn't be her. Yet, she knew it was. She had sat on her knees before and scarred her soul in the process.

She tried to remember how she got here. Everything was so difficult to comprehend. Her heart was hurting inside her chest, and she thought she would die from the pain of it. Why did these terrible things have to happen? Anzu could remember a time when she had been naive and thought that anything could be solved if you believed and were true enough. This man in front of her had proved her completely wrong.

Her sight was blurred by her tears, but she thought to herself that it didn't matter. He was going to use her and throw her away, just like she thought she deserved. That was why she ended up at Diamond Dolls. It was the only place that would have her after countless job applications with no working papers. Pain radiated across her scalp as he yanked her head by her hair. She stared at the ground and his black slippers.

"If you ask me, she seems a bit of a whore," the Thief King offered without caring to be asked.

Atemu gave him a baleful stare before turning his attention back on Anzu. He had been calling her name, trying to get her to respond to him.

"Anzu! You've got to hear me!" His voice was cracking from the strain. Inside his chest, icy blood pumped through his heart.

Bakura continued to laugh as Anzu sat weeping, her head yanked about by her apparition. He reached out and grabbed Atemu by his neck. As he applied pressure to his trachea, darker laughter emanated.

"You cannot even save yourself from me. What makes you think you can save her?" Bakura sneered, enjoying himself.

Atemu frowned, thinking to himself that he was right. What had he done to truly help her? His leaving the first time had hurt her, his state of death had led her to her own death, and her desire to be with him had brought them to this place. All because he had wanted her with him. He had been selfish. He felt he had done a greater disservice to her than he would have if he had just kept away. If you came down to it, he was the one at fault. Bakura released him, seeing the defeat in Atemu's eyes.

Smirking, the Thief King made his way around Atemu to pull him up against him. He adjusted Atemu's head so he was forced to stare at Anzu and the male figure in front of her. He could hear laughter coming from her tormentor as she wept on her knees. Her headdress laid on the ground like gutter glitter lost after a parade. A moment later, the man's leather belt joined it as he flung it one-handedly from his pants.

The unknown figure to Atemu knelt down next to his wife and licked the side of her face, she cringed with the touch of his tongue on her skin. This gave Atemu a small hope that she would do something, anything, to fight back. He could hear this man calling her all sorts of derogatory terms and each one cut him to his soul. He felt powerless in the face of this, and Bakura was making sure he would see it all.

However, she did nothing. He could see defeat in her eyes as she accepted his disgusting caress and informed her that now she was being a "good slut." Atemu felt his blood boiling from the inside and he pushed the other man off of him, trying to run to her. Chains from his shackles held him back, just out of reach of her.

"You can't save her," Bakura hissed as he strode back in front of Atemu.

Bakura swung his arm back and then forward, slamming Atemu back against the wooden beams behind him. Atemu grunted from the impact. A flash of red light cut across Atemu's violet eyes as his fists clinched at the edge of his shackles. A small cold smile began to form on his lips.

Yugi turned to the last page of Anzu's journal and sighed. He felt emotionally drained from the experience and rubbed his teary eyes. Everyone in the room was completely silent as they took in everything they had heard. They knew something wasn't right from the tone in Anzu's letters to each of them, but to now know the full truth of her experiences, it weighed on each of them heavily. Her journey in New York and how she felt the Pharaoh had saved her, to her study of the forbidden heka and her decision to go to her beloved's tomb. Their reverie was soon shattered. Something crashed outside and they could hear a car alarm going off. Looking at the clock, it was close to two in the morning.

"I suppose..." Yugi hesitated at first, but continued, "I suppose it is time for bed."

Shizuka was weeping silently in front of him, her head on Honda's shoulder. He was trying to comfort her, but finding himself at a loss on how to deal with her emotional state. He felt lost and was hurting over what Anzu had been through at the same time.

Sniffling back a sob, Shizuka finally made a coherent sentence, "Ishizu, is she... is she... dead?"

Those who had figured it out already shifted their eyes away, trying not to look at either Shizuka or Ishizu.

Ishizu approached her and simply said, "Yes." The younger woman fell into the Egyptian's arms, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Then why are we here if she is dead?" Kaiba cut through Shizuka's sobs.

He was staring at Ishizu, whom he considered the orchestrator of this whole trip. She could have said this on the phone. Now, they had heard the life story of a woman who probably had not intended it to be read before an audience. It bothered him. He wondered if Mokuba would read his entire sordid past to a roomful of people.

The entire room turned and stared at him, shock at his statement blanking their faces. Then, Jonouchi's face twisted into rage as he leaped forward and grabbed Kaiba by the collar, nearly tripping over Bakura who was half-twisted on the ground in front of the other man. Mai was jumping up at the same time, trying to stop Jonouchi. Yugi joined the fray, too, to stop Jonouchi from pummeling Kaiba. Kaiba was unfazed by this display from Jonouchi and with a smooth stroke, he applied a jujutsu move that had the blond-haired man flung back against his friends. Bakura yelled as he barely dodged a flying foot that would have knocked him unconscious.

Kaiba pointed at Ishizu. "You have fostered your superstitions on us more than once. What do you think is really going on if Anzu is already dead? This is no longer and never has been a 'rescue' mission."

Rishid looked over at his foster sister. He had been wondering this as well every since he realized that the young woman he had spent so much time with was dead. He had suspected it since the strange storms began, but at that time, he was not ready to face that realization. It bore down on his heart and soul.

Ishizu stared down the finger pointing at her and into Kaiba's accusing blue eyes. She felt Mariku's hand on her shoulder, trying to offer comfort from his diatribe. She shrugged him off and approached the center of the room and took Yugi's place.

"What we rescue now is not her life. It is now her soul that is in question and where it will go. Also, the Pharaoh may be affected," she responded.

Mokuba spoke first, "What do you mean?"

She looked into each person in the room in their eyes, and many glanced away from her intensity.

"For us Egyptians, those of us who follow the old ways, there is belief that judgment takes place before the Scale of Ma'at. However, there must be certain preparations done in order for the person to be able to be weighed by Her. In addition..."She paused for a moment. "using the Millennium Tome can leave a mark upon the soul and in some ways, defies the Gods Themselves."

"What!" Rishid shouted. His former stoic appearance of expressionlessness shattered. "How could you let her study the book if you knew all this!"

She looked down, her hair falling pass her golden headband to conceal her features, before responding. "She would have used the book regardless of the dangers. My hope was that, if she realized how dangerous it was, maybe she would not do it. At the very least, that if she did, she would have a better chance of not damning herself."

"This is preposterous. Are you meaning to say that I've traveled thousands of kilometers for a ghost story?" Kaiba cut into the conversation.

Bakura quietly spoke up, adding his opinion, "Do you deny what is happening outside? What almost happened when we landed at the airport? What even happened on the plane? You had to have felt it."

"I-" Kaiba stopped himself. To completely deny it would amount to a lie.

"Yugi." Ishizu focused her attention on the young man standing next to Jonouchi. Rebecca snapped her head up from her contemplation at hearing her fiancée's name.

Looking slightly confused, he replied, "Yes?"

"What do you think would happen if the Pharaoh released the darkness that is sealed within him?" There it was. The heart of the matter, outside the safety of Anzu.

"It could... It would..." Yugi's voice trailed off, he was scared to even put words to what he thought.

"Evil? Sealed inside the Pharaoh?" Rebecca interjected. "Yugi told me of how he defeated Zorc in the memories, so that evil was never sealed by Atemu."

Mariku turned to face her. "That was not the only evils he had fought."

Her mouth opened and shut without a word.

"My other me," Yugi said, "fought countless other types of evil in this world and sealed the darkness of not just Egyptian terrors."

Jonouchi turned and looked at Yugi. "Are you saying that with all that is happening that the... that what I've seen him do... what you've told me he and you have done... could be released?"

"Yes, and if that darkness inside of him finds a way out," Ishizu flatly spoke, "then not just are Anzu and the Pharaoh at stake."

Outside, the wind howled against the window of the living room as sand pattered against it like torrential rain. Lightening crashed through the darkness of the sandstorm. Unusual events together as one. Suddenly, the artificial lights around then flickered and became dark. The only illumination now came from the candles Ishizu had lit around the room earlier. Even Kaiba was starting to look uncomfortable.

"What do we do, Ishizu?" Yugi asked her, his voice trembling.

"Mana," Mahado said to her after a time, "We must gather the priests and sages of our time. There has to be something that we can do."

The magician looked at his apprentice and love, his eyes were dark with determination. She nodded and they ran from the cliff, borne on the speed of their heka, toward the palaces below. Each split from the other to travel toward the three kingdoms affected: the kingdom of Atemu's, his father, and Pharaoh Seto's. They ran pass startled denizens of Aaru, confused spirits who could not understand what was happening in the place of tranquility.

Mana sought out Pharaoh Seto and Kisara. She found them in his throne room, deep in discussion over the current issues at hand. Rapidly explaining to them what Pharaoh Atemu had been involved in, the interference of the Gods Themselves, and what she and Mahado worried about the darkness, they agreed to follow her back to Atemu's palace.

Mahado only went to Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen's palace to locate Atemu's father for assistance. He explained the dire situation he felt that was facing Aaru, including details he had not yet revealed to Mana. They were suspicions, but the old Pharaoh nodded. He knew intimately that Mahado possessed power that many could not understand and that he would have a sense of what they could be facing. In addition, he felt concern regarding the presence of Setekh involved in the matter. Inpu could be expected, but the father was far more dangerous than the son.

As both Mana and Mahado returned to the palace, their guests in tow, they roused up the rest of the guardians of the Millennium Items. Since most had died during their tenure in Pharaoh Atemu's time, they were easily found here among their known companions. Heated discussions began as they debated over what was occurring and what, if anything, could they do about it.

"My son is different from other Pharaohs, both past and future," Akhenamkhanen said to the delegation. "We know this, because it has been witnessed his power to prevent the destruction of our homeland, Kemet."

Mahado and Seto nodded. They had seen this with their own eyes, and it was Atemu that bequeathed the title of Pharaoh to Seto after he vanished. Much was also learned when Atemu had returned to Aaru. The river of time was strange in that it seemed forever and short all at once. However, it was as it should be, even if their lives involved dualities of existence. They were aware of his adventures with his living host that he called his partner, the one who had solved the Millennium puzzle that Siamun had disassembled and placed in Atemu's tomb that was later found by his reincarnate.

Looking confused by the exchange of dialog, Mana spoke up, "What would happen if Pharaoh were to lose control?"

"Nothing that anyone can foresee, I fear," Isis spoke up next.

Karimu looked down and pondered the situation as he rubbed his chin. He then asked, "What can we do, my friends?"

Purplish-black tendrils began to coil along Atemu's arms as his eyes faded from violet to red. Bakura stepped back, surprised by the sudden change in the Pharaoh he had been tormenting. He stood up straight, his back ramrod straight as he pulled his wrists in front of him. Atemu looked at the shackles, seemingly for the first time, began to concentrate on them. Cracks began to form on their surface as the darkness grew around him.

The Thief King began to laugh suddenly. "Yes! Show your true self! Try to save her, and see how fruitless your efforts really are!"

Atemu could barely hear him, the roar of blood in his ears was too great as he watched the man in front of Anzu preparing himself to sully her. She seemed incapable of fighting back, lost in her own grief and guilt. He had promised her he would protect her with his soul, with everything. It didn't matter what that entailed, he would give it all to her.

He could see the tendrils of evil radiating off of him, twisting and twining with his bonds, but it didn't matter anymore. If Anzu was hurt, it would destroy him. If anyone hurt her, he would destroy them. Right now, he didn't care if this man and Bakura were illusions or not. He would remove them from existence, one way or another. No cost was too great.

Staring at Bakura with glowing red eyes, Atemu concentrated with all his might and a blast of red light radiated from him to strike the man who had desecrated his father's grave. It knocked him to the ground, but he kept laughing. It was a grating noise to Atemu's ears. He wanted nothing more than to silence the voice that had seeded doubts within him. He could hear the metal of his bindings cracking as he exerted greater force upon them. He could also feel something else within him threatening to crack open.

Isis and Ishizu, incarnate and reincarnate, both spoke at the same time to their respective groups, "We must pray and offer up our hearts and hopes to our friends in need. For them to find a way to save Kemet and the world, and for them to have strength through whatever blocks their way. They must know they are not alone."

"What is this-" Kaiba tried to interject, feeling that this was getting more ridiculous by the second.

"Shut up, Big Brother," Mokuba interrupted him as he grasped Bakura's and the newly seated Jonouchi's hand. Others were clasping hands to one another until a circle was formed. Only Bakura and Yugi had hands that were free. They extended them to Kaiba.

Looking infuriated at this prospect of some bonfire bonding ceremony, he took a step back. Yugi motioned with his open palm.

"Like you have anything else you can be doing right now?" He offered.

Honda added, "In another few hours the sun will rise."

Silence descended on the room as everyone looked at Honda. Otogi spoke up, looking at the man on the other side of Shizuka, "What has that got to do with anything?"

Shizuka was ducking her head with a slightly embarrassed look.

"I'm saying, he can leave then. Right now... there's..." His voice trailed off and he looked down in his lap.

"If the sun even rises. Kaiba, have a little faith?" Ishizu said, trying to reason with him.

Bakura tried to give him a reassuring smile and said, "Hey, if nothing happens, then you can get full rights to I told you so's on all of us. So, why not?"

"Fine. But if you people start singing, I'm out of here – sandstorm or not." Kaiba snapped and grasped the two hands offered to him.

As many began to bow their heads, Ishizu said, "Simply concentrate on Anzu and the Pharaoh. Will your presence to them. Easy enough...even for Kaiba to do."

She could not conceal her smirk when she heard him growl under his breath from across the room.

In Aaru, the group there had clasped each other's hands without any contempt or argument. They had all been touched by magic at various points in their lives and felt that through their power of belief they will be able to assist their Pharaoh.

Anzu could feel the tears burning hot trails on her cheeks as she watched Davien unzipping his pants. He began to waver and transformed into the form of the man who had forced this same event upon her when she was at Dancing Dolls. He was the same one from that night when she had first become a VIP girl. She gasped as he rippled into this form. Anzu could smell the stink of his cigarettes coming off of his clothing as he yanked her head closer to his crotch.

A strange golden glow began to emanate around her and this distracted her for a moment from what was about to happen. She looked over and saw Atemu, really saw him again in this place. He was overlaid with red and violet energies that appeared unhealthy. In front of him, the Bakura from his memories was on the ground laughing. Atemu's eyes were glowing bright red. However, like her, he was suddenly distracted by the mirage of gold appearing around him.

"Remember... you are never alone..." A ghostly feminine voice reverberated in the chamber.

Another voice spoke up, this one male, "We are with you in spirit and thought..."

"Please, do not be sad." This one sounded like Shizuka's.

Was this one Yugi? "Please, do not feel guilt."

"I freely give you my strength..." Many voices were now speaking. Their statements crashing and echoing upon one another.

She watched, surprised, as the glow took the form of her friends around her. It was warm and kind, and she felt surrounded by their kinship to her. In their eyes, she knew they knew everything and they were here. They were still willing to support her. Anzu smiled through her tears. It had been so long since she had seen her friends, all of them. She missed them so much, but she had been so ashamed to face them again. Yet, here they were, and they were supportive. They had not turned their backs on her.

Around Atemu, he saw his priests, guardians, and his childhood friends. He stopped in his concentration, and the red light in his eyes faded back to violet. He could feel the dark energies around him fading in the glow of this healing light. The cracking noise of the chains had stopped, but they had been damaged enough that he was able to yank his arms forward so his bindings snapped apart. He was free. With warmth in his heart, he turned his eyes toward Anzu and could see a rapturous look on her face. Bakura blocked his view of her, awash in a red light.

"Begone!" Atemu pointed his hands toward Bakura and felt a surge of power flow through his being. Golden light radiated from his fingertips to push the Thief King back into the dark.

At the same time, Anzu looked up at the marks of her damaged self-esteem. She was not alone, even though she had been damaged. She was not alone. Her friends forgave her and still cared for her as much as she did them. She could feel the man's fingers in her hair and she yanked herself back, disregarding the pain as he tried to grip her head harder. She kicked upward and connected with that offensive tool he had planned to use on her. He crumpled to the ground in front of her.

She stood up and looked down on him, ready to fight. Atemu was racing toward her. Anzu felt the manacles on her wrists come undone, and the chains fell down to the ground at her feet. Looking at her wrists, she felt herself smile as she glanced up to see her husband and the glow of their friends around them. They were not alone in this place of damnation. In front of her, her attacker vanished like smoke.

"Atemu!" She cried to him as he grabbed her and crushed her against his chest with his embrace.

He was kissing her forehead and cheeks. "Anzu! Oh Gods, Anzu! I thought I was going to lose you."

She pulled back from him enough to be able to look him in the eyes. "Me, too."

They kissed, quickly and with passion. For the moment, they were safe. Bathed in the golden light, they felt their spirits renewed with hope. They had a chance now.

Staring at each other from the ring of glowing golden essences, Ishizu and Isis made eye contact and nodded to one another. Everyone else around them seemed unaware of each other's presence.

"Pharaoh!" Both women called out.

The couple turned their heads to face the near identical women. He nodded.

Isis spoke first, "Pharaoh, since you left to follow your queen, things have begun to change in Aaru. Darkness covers the land."

Ishizu raised her eyebrow at the mention of 'your queen', but didn't ask. However, she also spoke, "A great sandstorm has extended from the Valley of the Kings and is currently battering the city nearby. Flooding and great storms also have appeared in the last day among the living."

Anzu gasped out-loud, gripping tightly to Atemu. "It is as They said, the heka I performed has harmed not only the physical world, but Aaru!"

Atemu shook his head. "How can this be? The spell wasn't even a true success."

"I suppose it is all in the matter of the energies, I am not a magician of caliber to determine this. One moment." The image of Isis vanished for a moment, including the one of Mahado. They returned within moments. "Mahado has not heard of this happening either, but what is odd, is that Aaru recently had darkness but it was not this blackness. It was more of an evening sky."

He frowned as he remembered the reeds and Anzu appearing by the shore of the Nile. The sky overhead had become like that of a midnight sky with thousands of stars shining down upon them. He had pushed her into the sand. This event had had happened not long after he had first appeared with her in New York. He heard her sharp intake of breath.

"I thought that had just been a dream... I had forgotten it," she murmured aloud. Anzu looked at the glowing delegation and then at Atemu. "Atemu, I... I have been bypassing into Aaru, haven't I? The incident on the plane, and that night with Diamond, but every time I've experienced something related to Aaru... I was always dying or near death, wasn't I?"

He had buried these thoughts deep within himself, and he had always intended to investigate them again, but so many events had happened in so short of a time. It had been impossible to make a subtle query. His answer was plainly evident on his face.

"How is that...?" She tried to ask.

He interrupted, "I don't know." He looked at Isis and Ishizu. Their surprise was obvious.

"How many times has she entered Aaru without..." Isis asked, her voice betraying her shock.

Anzu shrugged, and answered for herself. "I don't know. A handful or more."

She frowned. "Then, apparently, it is possible that her casting of the spell is causing these disturbances."

Fresh tears filled Anzu's eyes. It was she that was truly the source of all the problems that the worlds were experiencing. "Then, Setekh was right!"

"No, He cannot be," Atemu vehemently ascertained. "Something else must be happening. Those brief moments never caused any real issue."

"But this time, she is truly dead." Ishizu cut into Atemu's argument.

Anzu guiltily looked down, afraid to see the faces of her friends in the glow even though it seemed only the two women could interact here.

Isis countered, "Regardless, Atemu and his queen being here is not going to fix this. Neither one of them belong here."

"Yes, I do," Atemu quietly said, "I made the choice to come here."

Shrugging like it was a simple and minor inconvenience. "You made the choice to come here, but you do not belong here, my Pharaoh. I witnessed the weighing of the Queen's feather, she doesn't either."

Anzu looked up at the shaft of red light far above them. "But how will we get out?" she asked.

"If my descendant will give me leave, we can combine the powers we have gathered here to lift you out of Tuat and back to the crossroads," Isis stated.

Ishizu nodded and the two strode forward toward Atemu and Anzu. Ishizu grasped Anzu's shoulder, and Isis took hold of Atemu's. Both of the women closed their eyes and the golden glow became incandescent and white. The couple closed their eyes at the brightness and felt themselves being buoyed by the power of their combined friends.

In Tuat, the denizens and souls all stopped in their torments and punishments to stare in awe as an orb of bright white light ascended into the sky. It floated in the reddish darkness for a moment before bursting in a stream of pure incandescence, forcing them to shield themselves from the sudden illumination. From within His temple, Inpu could barely contain the rage and shock that something like this had just happened. He had realized immediately that the two within the vanishing light were Atemu and Anzu.


	38. Sacrificed

Within the small rented apartment, the group of friends collapsed suddenly. They felt drained and that their energy had been sapped. A few were quietly commenting that they thought they might have saw Anzu when they had their eyes closed, and others claimed they didn't see anything but had a feeling. Ishizu was the only one to interact with Atemu and Anzu in Tuat, and she decided it was best to keep this quiet.

Stretching out her back, her muscles feeling tight and cramped, Ishizu said, "Would anyone like some water?"

Kaiba, Bakura, and Sugoroku were looking out the window, watching the darkened sands flying pass like torrential drops of rain. The old man's reflection showed that he was frowning at the freak storm. Bakura felt nervous, like something wasn't right with the scene. It was an unnatural feeling.

"Grandpa, do you think something is... that Ishizu is right..." He felt nervous putting into words what he thought. Bakura's nightmares often involved the mystical and memories of Egypt. Just being here made him feel on edge.

Shrugging, Sugoroku replied, "I can tell you that I've never known for a sandstorm to last so long and be combined with flooding and lightning, much less tornadoes like earlier."

"Do you think we'll be able to get to the other apartments?" Kaiba asked suddenly.

"No, it would be foolish to try to walk outside in this. Any bare skin would be abraded by the sand immediately. Breathing would be extremely difficult without a proper mask,"he replied.

Bakura glanced at Kaiba through their reflection, brown eyes moving toward sea-blue, "Why do you ask?"

"I'm wondering where we are going to sleep if we are all in here." He crossed his arms and frowned.

Anxiously laughing, Bakura stated, "Oh... I try to avoid sleep as much as possible. I hadn't thought about it."

Across the room, Yugi and Rebecca were talking quietly to themselves while sharing a glass of water.

"Yugi, I'm really worried. I thought... I think I saw Anzu when we did that praying thing with Ishizu,"she was telling him.

Intrigued, but keeping his counsel to himself, Yugi asked, "You did?"

Nodding, she continued, "It was hard to see, but it... she was and the Pharaoh were chained to something, but then the chains were gone. I thought I saw two Ishizus. Everything was very jumpy. It was like watching a bad movie reel or something."

"I did, too," Yugi revealed to her.

Her eyes grew wide behind her glasses. "You saw the same things?"

He nodded and looked away for a moment. "I'm not sure if everyone did and are just claiming less, or not, but I feel better knowing you saw it, too. Sometimes... I wonder if any of this is real."

"Yeah... It is hard, I think. Especially with having to worry over your closest friends." Rebecca reached out and placed her hand over his, squeezing it lightly.

Intertwining his fingers with hers, Yugi gave her a smile. "It is, but I have support."

Rebecca blushed lightly and smiled back at him, then frowned. "I must be really late now. I'm so tired."

"Hmm... me too. I wonder how we will arrange everyone for sleeping tonight, or rather this morning."

Shizuka sat between Honda and Otogi, fidgeting her fingers. The three of them were very quiet. It was almost uncomfortable to be in this position again she thought to herself. It was funny, as she remembered Anzu's letter, that Anzu thought she had everything figured out when she was just as confused as the next person.

"I wonder where everyone will sleep," she finally said, breaking the silence.

Otogi blinked, surprised by her question. "I'm not sure really. I hadn't thought about it."

Honda was looking toward the kitchen where Mai and Jonouchi were rummaging through cabinets. "I don't know about sleep, but I'm starving. I hope they find something they can share."

Coming up empty handed, Mai and Jonouchi decided to try to curb their hunger with water. Leaning against the counter top, Mai couldn't help the sudden melancholy in her voice.

"Jonouchi, do you think... it was painful for her?"

Taken aback but the sudden question, he looked at his girlfriend. "What do you mean?"

"Death... dying..." She looked down, her finger playing around the rim of her glass.

"I don't know, to tell you the truth,"he replied while nervously scratching the back of his head. "If Atemu was there, I imagine he did everything he could to make sure it was peaceful."

Mai looked up into Jonouchi's eyes, he could see fear creeping into them. "I thought I saw them... there were chains but..."

It dawned on him what she was talking about. He had seen it, too. "Yeah," he said as he reached out for her hand, taking away the glass. "I saw it."

"Were they in some sort of hell?" She asked, letting him put her drink on the counter.

Jonouchi pulled her close to him and whispered into her hair, "I don't know, but the Ishutaru siblings have been busy talking ever since."

"Ishizu," Rishid spoke in a low voice so it wouldn't carry in the room, "what do you think this means?"

She kept her eyes averted from the others in the room, focusing on her brothers. "I don't know. I've been running on pure instinct you could say. I'm not sure what is happening with Pharaoh and Anzu, and certainly not with myself."

Mariku spoke next, leaning against the wall. "What do you think he meant when he said he made that choice to be in Tuat?"

"Anzu spoke of Setekh being right and that these anomalies are the result of the magic from the Millennium Tome. Apparently, Aaru is having difficulties as well," she answered.

Rishid interjected, "I don't think what she did would have been powerful enough for this."

Ishizu frowned, and took a moment before answering. "Maybe you're right, and maybe you're wrong, but whatever is happening is not happening naturally."

This place seemed familiar. It was a great nothingness, similar to what she and Atemu had passed through before when he had protected her from their fall into Tuat. What was more, was that she remembered this from before. A flash of a silvery women flickered across her minds-eye but was gone just as quick. She seemed familiar and had told her something very, very important.

Atemu was keeping hold of Anzu's hand. He was afraid to lose her again, and this emptiness felt like a prime location for that to happen. It reminded him of what it felt like before the Millennium Puzzle had been solved, that sort of ethereal moment of time that lasted both forever and a second. It was both lonely and comforting, like floating in fluid, but this time, he held only fear of this place. He pulled his wife closer to him. They were at a crossroads between the realms of Tuat and Aaru.

"Atemu,"she asked him as she looked around the darkness, "where are we?"

"It is a crossroads of sorts," he responded, his eyes narrowing at the emptiness.

She pulled away slightly to try to explore, but he pulled her back tight against her. Confused, Anzu said, "There is nothing here."

He didn't release her. "For now, there is nothing."

"But, I've been here before... I think..." Her voice trailed off as she looked down, trying to remember. She shook her head, the wisp of memory vanishing just as she was touching it.

"This is the primordial plane," Her voice, that of Aset, echoed as She appeared nearby, "where creation and destruction reside. This is chaos and order as one."

Both Atemu and Anzu gasped as they turned toward Her. Other lights were appearing, multi-hued like thousands of stars, and taking the form of the entire pantheon. Beside Aset, Her husband and son took position on either side of Her. Ma'at stood off-center and in-between as darker lights took the form of the opposing side. Setekh and Inpu stood at the forefront of this group.

"The meddling of the woman has brought chaos spilling across the world," Setekh decreed. His eyes glowed red in the gloom of the darkness. "You all know that this will cause creation to fall apart. Ma'at! If events continue as they are, am I correct that this will happen?"

Bathed in golden light, the Goddess of the Scales bowed Her head. "I am unable to directly influence events. Setekh is correct."

"Impossible! This cannot be!" Atemu cried out, his voice contorted in fury.

Inpu blasted a beam of dark energy toward the couple, knocking them to the ground. "Silence! It has and always been your meddling in the affairs of the world that has brought these tragedies about. When are you going to realize that, mortal!"

They could hear the agreement of the other divine beings around them. Anzu was frightened. She could not begin to fathom what they would want of them now. How could this be blamed upon Atemu she thought to herself. She was the one to cast this spell, not him.

"It is not Atemu's fault!" She exclaimed as she stood up. "If there is to be blame, then that blame must be mine. Tell me what to do to fix this!"

Ma'at turned toward Anzu and fixed Her eyes upon hers. There seemed to be a sadness to them, and Anzu had the feeling She wanted to tell her something important. Instead, She said, "True sacrifice."

Aset tried to rebut, "We cannot ask this! This can not be happening because of a mere spell. Setekh! What is truly going on here?"

Inpu jerked His jackal head to face His father standing behind Him. His Own red eyes glaring at the more powerful being.

Setekh strode forward, pushing His son to the side. "Are you accusing Me, Aset?"

"I-" She faltered.

Accusing another god of such destruction was not something one could lightly state. Aset looked around and could see that the other gods were in agreement with Setekh. If She spoke what She really thought was going on, She could face punishment from the Pantheon instead.

Grumbling under Her breath, She flatly said, "No."

"Then allow Me to illuminate what is really happening." He spread His arms outward and then pointed at Anzu. "This mortal, with aid of one We of the Pantheon are already aware of and who nearly caused the destruction of the world before, is causing history to repeat."

Atemu got to his feet and stood next Anzu, protectively pulling her behind him. He had fought against darkness before, surely they could overcome this. Atemu's violet eyes narrowed.

"We have defeated tragedy before, we can do it again," Atemu countered Setekh.

Setekh scoffed. "Your essence still hangs in the balance. She has not yet made it to Aaru, and you have already offered yourself to My son's decisions."

Anzu felt Atemu stiffen next to her. Setekh was right, they were still in Their power. They had not yet broken free of Tuat. Regardless that they were now standing in the crossroads between. This was never going to stop. She could feel her tears falling down her cheeks.

Isis sat in a circle with the other priests of Atemu's time as a living Pharaoh. She had finished explaining what she had seen when in Tuat to those around her. She leaned back in her chair, a frown upon her face as she contemplated what could be happening to her Pharaoh and his queen. Isis thought about what Mana and Mahado had said regarding the appearance of Setekh and Inpu during the Pharaoh's new queen's weighing.

Karimu pondered for a moment. "Mahado, Mana, I have seen you perform much magic without such reaction. What makes this different? Yes, the woman you described is untrained, but... I don't understand how this could affect Aaru."

"Atemu did obtain the key of the Millennium Tome from the Goddess Aset Herself," Mana replied, she looked away.

"This was the same book that Seto's father, Akhenaden, used to make the Millennium Items. It seems to be a book of double-edges," Mahado added, looking out the window toward the dark horizon.

Isis rubbed her arms. "It still gives me chills to see Aaru looking like this. This is the same sky I remember right before my death."

The others around her agreed.

"Could this be a sign of Zorc? Could He be returning?" Siamun asked, his voice low and barely above a whisper.

"That... that would be impossible," Mahado said, but his voice carried little assurance.

Siamun could only shrug. In his years of life, he had learned there was very little that was impossible, but whatever was happening could not bode well for anyone.

Glancing at the older priest from the corner of his eye, Karimu looked to Isis, Mahado and Mana. "Is there anyway we can get back to the Pharaoh? There must be something that we could do."

"Possibly, but to get Pharaoh and the queen out of Tuat took both our power and the power of her friends. I am not certain if we have enough power amongst ourselves," she replied.

Shada interjected, his blue eyes showing confusion, "Isis, you never mentioned how they came to be in Tuat at the same time we did."

"I'm not sure how that happened. Perhaps my reincarnate thinks along the same lines as I do and came to the same conclusion. While she doesn't hold a formal priest title, I had the sense that she has the necessary training," Isis said of her doppelgänger and their meeting.

Pursuing it further, Shada asked, "Would you be able to make contact with her?"

Surprised by the idea, the others all turned to look at Shada. Isis was taken aback.

"I... I can only try to contact her," she finally managed to say.

Among the living, everyone had found a place to bunk down for the night. Dawn was not far off, so their sleep would be nothing more than a nap. In one of the rooms, the Ishutarus had settled themselves with Hondo and Shizuka and in the other, Mai and Jonouch along with Yugi and Rebecca were sleeping. Mokuba was asleep on the couch's pull-out bed with Sugoroku and Otogi. Kaiba and Bakura remained awake, the howl of the sandstorm battering at the windows.

"This is what I dream about Egypt being," Bakura said suddenly, his voice quiet and faint over the snores of the old man in the bed.

Kaiba turned, semi-surprised by his sudden statement. "What do you mean?"

The white-haired man looked down at his hands from where he sat on a recliner. "Nothing, don't worry about."

"I'm not, you're the one who said something," Kaiba snapped backed. His nerves were on edge, but the other man was right, it was eerily similar to what he remembered from his time in the Pharaoh's memories.

Finding himself a chair, Kaiba sat down it and shaped his hands into a steeple. His quiet was interrupted again by Bakura.

"Do you think..." Bakura started to say and then stopped, frowning.

Kaiba sighed. "Why aren't you asleep?"

Countering, Bakura said, "The same could be asked of you."

"Hmph. We have to get up early in the morning, there is no point to it. I'm very used to not getting a full night's sleep." Kaiba looked back toward the window. "I just want this storm to stop so that I can leave. There isn't much use of me being here now."

"Oh." Bakura pulled the lever on the chair and it stretched out. Trying to lighten the mood, he said, "I guess we'll keep each other company until morning."

Kaiba frowned and pulled a notepad out of his bag by the table. He began to write furiously into it, ignoring the only other awake person in the room. Bakura sighed and proceeded to count the cracks in the ceiling. Being in Egypt again made him uncomfortable, and he was certain that he would not sleep well here.

"Can you not let her go and deal with me?" Atemu angrily demanded. She could feel him shaking with rage under her hands.

Setekh laughed and said, "No."

"Why not?" Atemu asked.

"Because she is the one who started this, she will be the one to decide how it is finished." The dark god's muzzle clearly smirked.

Anzu was surprised by this statement and looked around at the angry eyes of the gods around her. She was very scared, and it seemed that it was becoming darker in this place.

"What do I have to do?" She asked from behind Atemu.

Not being helpful, Setekh shrugged. "Were you not listening to Ma'at?"

"I... Yes," she said.

Anzu thought to herself. Ma'at had said 'true sacrifice', and it started another argument between Aset and Setekh. It seemed they kept insisting on sacrifice for the spell she had performed, but it didn't make sense that this was required. Was she not dead? Wasn't her life already sacrificed for this? She didn't understand.

"I already lost my life, wouldn't that had been sacrifice enough?" She asked, her voice trembling from her nervousness.

"When the villagers of Kul Elna were sacrificed for the Millennium Items, did they get to go on to Aaru and have a peaceful existence?" She could see His eyes glowing more brightly as He asked her. It was as if He enjoyed that unhappy moment of history. Atemu stopped shaking and instead stiffened.

Anzu looked away from those red eyes and avoided the violet ones next to her. "No... they didn't."

"You knew these things, yet you still persisted with performing magic. You are a fool." Setekh was chuckling.

Mikala would not have steered her toward this in error. Anzu kept having a feeling that something was being purposely avoided or shuffled away. She was missing some small but important detail. The spells were spells, and using the people of Kul Elna the way they were naturally attracted the dark forces that they did. Their spirits demanded retribution and cried for it. Her spell was different. It had to be.

"Anzu Mazaki, do not listen to Him." Anzu whipped her head around to look at Aset. The goddess was giving her a tight-lipped smile, but nonetheless, it buoyed her in this trying moment. They had some support left among the gods. Anzu returned the smile, but it didn't reach her eyes this time.

"What would I need to sacrifice to appease this?" She asked, not wanting to know the answer. She asked this of both Aset and Setekh.

Setekh grinned at her capitulation, His sharp teeth shone bright white against His black muzzle. Atemu had grabbed her arm at the same time, squeezing her so tight that it almost hurt.

"What are you doing, Anzu?" He urgently whispered in her ear.

Anzu looked at him and could see the lines around his eyes. He was exhausted and fearful. Neither one of them knew what might happen next, what the magic would require of her, or what Setekh was really after. That was what bothered her most about this. Why would this god care about the world. Yes, He had put up a front of demanding half of Kemet, but it seemed He was no longer focusing on that. It was the world now.

She whispered back. "I don't know yet."

"Please," he begged in her ear, "go to Aset and leave this place. Get to Aaru. I have to know that you are safe. Let me take your place in this."

More tears made their way down her face, and she wiped her face. It was then that she noticed that her crown was missing. Her eyes widened slightly as her fingers combed through her hair. It was not there. Did she no longer deserve to wear the a crown of Kemet? She tried to remember when she had lost it. It must have been when she was facing Davien. Was she undeserving of Atemu?

"I think that the Pharaoh interferes too much," Inpu loudly said, enough to force them to stop whispering to one another.

Anzu blushed. She wondered if Aset or Setekh had been trying to tell her something, and if she had ignored it while thinking about Atemu and her crown. She really shouldn't be thinking about her crown at a moment like this anyways.

"I will continue to stay by my queen's side so long as I am able," Atemu snarled back at the Jackal God.

Inpu laughed and looked over at His father who gave a slight nod. "It appears you will no longer be able to stay by her side."

Anzu gasped and turned to face Inpu. She cried out in horror when He jammed the butt end of His _was_ staff into the ground at His feet and wispy white ghouls appeared. Anzu began to scream when they sped toward them and wrapped their tendrils around Atemu's arms and legs, passing through her like she was nothing.

Grunting from the cold permeating his entire body, Atemu pushed Anzu back from him. He didn't want her to get hurt by these creatures of Inpu's. He twisted himself and tried to rip them from him, but his hands were passing through their ethereal forms. They may have had no form for him to grasp, but his form was solid enough for them wrap around him. White light began to haze over his vision and the sound of Anzu's voice began to fade.

"Atemu!" Anzu screamed, trying to grasp at him, but now her hands were passing through his body. In front of her eyes, he vanished.

Whipping around, she stared at Inpu with sharp, angry blue eyes. "Where is my husband?!"

"Somewhere else." The god shrugged. "Do not be concerned, you'll see him soon enough."

In Luxor, Yugi woke up and sat up from the cot that he and Rebecca had put together to sleep on in the room they were in. His chest was constricting painfully, and he felt chills radiating throughout his body. Frowning, he looked at the unfamiliar surroundings and remembered he was in Egypt. Looking at the watch on his wrist, it read five am. Sunrise would be in another hour or so.

He thought about getting out from under the blankets and could hear the soft rise and fall of his fiancée's breath next to him. Softly, Yugi caressed her cheek, affirming that she was really there next to him. It had been a strange nightmare that had awakened him. It had felt like he had been pulled away from someone he loved. Laying back down, he wrapped his arms around Rebecca and fell back into a restless sleep.

In the other room, Ishizu had awakened as well and stared up into the darkness of the room. She could hear the sands still battering at the building. The Egyptian woman felt that something had shifted, but she couldn't determine what it was exactly. Next to her, Mariku was sleeping and had scrunched the covers tightly across his body. She could hear Honda softly snoring next to his wife, but Shizuka was whimpering in her sleep.

Rishid said quietly, nearly startling his sister out of her skin, "Something has changed."

Feeling her heart rapidly beating and then slowing back down, Ishizu whispered back, "I feel it as well. Is that why you are up?"

She could barely make him out in the dark, but she was sure he nodded when he replied. "Yes."

"Has the storm changed or abated any since we went to bed?" She asked him.

Rishid frowned to himself. "No, it hasn't changed."

"Please, be sure to wake me if it does. If anything changes. Promise me." She could hear her voice trembling and it annoyed her.

"I promise, Ishizu, I will wake you if anything changes. Please, get some sleep, Sister."

She nodded and yanked some of the blanket from the sleeping Mariku, settling back into sleep. Her dreams were plagued by visions of specters and starless nights.

"Bring him back." Anzu enunciated each word as she made an angry demand of Inpu.

Aset approached Anzu and laid Her hand on her shoulder. "Anzu, be calm. Atemu is unharmed."

She looked up at the Goddess of Magic and could feel her tears spilling from her eyes. Anzu couldn't understand the strange feeling she had that she had seen this goddess before in life or was it in death. It was hard to tell anymore. She had felt unreal when living, and now she felt more real when dead. It seemed that everything was upside-down.

"Now," Setekh said, interrupting Anzu's thoughts about Aset, "that your meddling husband is indisposed for the moment. You were asking what you could do to stop this catastrophe."

Aset smirked at Her brother god. "Yes, because apparently You have all the answers, Brother."

He ignored Her and approached them instead. Soft tendrils of smoke rose up with each foot step as He walked, wrapping around His legs like Inpu's minions had but instead, these harmlessly faded. Around Him, the Pantheon delegation kept back from the proceedings. They only desired to know that Kemet and the world would be safe, regardless of what it took.

Anzu glared at the god, no longer caring that He could destroy her with a thought. "I have already earned my place in Aaru. So has my husband. What are you trying to gain?"

He grinned, a full display of sharp canine-like teeth on display. "Why the same thing We all want – a safe Kemet."

Not letting her eyes leave him, Anzu replied, "And You know how to accomplish this?"

"I happen to know a few things about magic and the type of magic that can cause rifts in the worlds. Just like My Beloved Sister knows."

Anzu could feel heat radiating from Aset's body as She bristled at Setekh's words. She was surprised that the goddess held Her tongue, but then, they were surrounded by all the other gods who seemed to be against the Goddess of Magic and especially Anzu, herself.

"Can we stop this game You are playing and just get to it? What do I need to do to stop these rifts from becoming larger?" Anzu finally asked Him, her voice sharper than she intended.

"Perhaps, it would be best to let Our impartial judge tell you what is required." He extended His hand toward Ma'at who was standing as still as a statue of Her. "That way, My Beloved Sister cannot further Her base accusations."

Allowing Aset to lead her, Anzu went to Ma'at. The Truth Goddess was staring forward, Her eyes unfocused and seemingly pursuing other avenues within. Her hands were wrapped tightly around a golden ankh. Anzu glanced over at Aset, confused by the stillness of Ma'at but Aset indicated with a slight nod to approach Her.

"Ma'at, what must I do to stop this from continuing? What can I do to halt these rifts that are plaguing Kemet?" Her voice was earnest and sincere.

"Which events do you speak of, young mortal Anzu Mazaki?" Ma'at answered, Her lips barely moving.

"I... I..." Anzu was throughly confused. Ma'at must be referring to the past she thought to herself. "I mean these current ones, the ones happening right now," Anzu said, trying to clarify what she was asking.

"A true sacrifice must be made to halt the dark powers at work and reveal their intentions," Ma'at said, repeating Herself from earlier.

Anzu clasped her hands at her chest before asking further. "What defines a true sacrifice?"

Ma'at's soft voice came to her. Even though it was truly soft, to her mind it was loud as thunder. "A mortal soul must be given."

"What?" Anzu finally sputtered out. "But... but... there must be..."

Aset was looking away now. Anzu felt her heart sink. What was she supposed to do?

"Take this, Anzu Mazaki, queen of Atemu and Kemet," Ma'at said as She reached up to remove Her feather from Her headdress.

Feeling the softness of the feather in her hands, Anzu watched in shock as it began to lengthen and expand. Wispy vanes became more solid and shiny, a silver gleam overtaking the pure whiteness of them. A pommel took the place of the part that was in her hand, ornate with hieroglyphics that she understood to stand for truth and order. Once the transformation was complete, Anzu held in her hands a gleaming silver blade.

"Who-" Anzu swallowed, almost afraid to ask this question. "Who must be sacrificed, Ma'at?"

Stepping away from her, Ma'at turned to face Anzu's profile before answering, looking at Aset from the other side. "That is a choice that you must make, Anzu Mazaki."

She had to choose someone to be sacrificed. Anzu couldn't believe that. How could she choose? She stood there, looking down at the sword as her body began to tremble. If Atemu had been here, he would know what to do but she was alone right now. She had to be strong and figure this out. Ma'at was offering her no answers, but maybe, Aset would be able to find away around this dilemma. Anzu turned and looked at the goddess next to her.

Shaking Her head, Aset stepped away from Anzu as did Ma'at. The pair walked back from her and left her in the center of the area. She was surrounded by the rest who were waiting for her to make her move.

"Seeing as you are here, and mortals are out there," Setekh said, His voice was lowered in anticipation, "I will bring forth mortals that you can decide upon."

"What?" Anzu gasped. "I cannot just choose some random person to... to... to..."

"Kill? Sure you can." He laughed, it was cold and heartless.

Faint images took shape around her, children, parents, and people going about their daily business. Their faint forms were ignorant of the divine standing there. A woman with a small infant walked pass her. Anzu could feel sobs trying to escape her throat. It was an image of what would never be she thought to herself. Mother and child vanished like dust on the wind.

"However, these are all useless sacrifices for you to pick from. They mean nothing to you," He continued. Anzu looked at him and could fear trying to lock itself upon her soul.

Extending His hand, two posts appeared with a faint glow of light surrounding them. Two figures began to appear hanging from them in chains, their heads bowed low, but they were nearly mirror images of one another. Anzu began to shake her head no as she watch them solidify in front of her.

In his bed, next to Rebecca, Yugi felt his entire body begin to seize up. It felt like his bones were cracking within him. A strangled scream made its way out of his throat as he thrashed upon the cot. Rebecca woke up and began to yell for help. He could barely hear over the roar of his own blood in his ears. Bakura and Kaiba were the first to run into the room, the pair had not gone to sleep. Something was tearing in his body, and he felt like he was falling into darkness.

Slowly, he could sense some sort of light behind his eyes as he came to again. Yugi lifted his head up and could see shadowy figures circled around him in the background. Strange headdresses decorated the majority of the groups heads. It was like being in a museum and seeing living representations of the Egyptian gods. He squinted his eyes, trying to look forward and then he saw Anzu standing there in a torn linen dress holding a shining sword. Yugi tried to go to her, but heavy shackles on his wrists held him back against a wooden post.

"Yugi!" Anzu screamed.

At the same moment, Atemu came back from unconsciousness. He was not sure where he had been sent, but it must have been some sort of holding area of the underworld. It had been painful, the sensation not unlike having heavy bricks placed upon his chest. He had gasped and clawed at them until he had fainted. Anzu's scream had awakened him and now he was bound against his own post, on display before the gods and Anzu. Next to him a few feet away, Yugi was also bound.

"Partner!" Atemu cried out to his friend and container of many years.

Yugi looked around confused. Where was he? It felt so much like when he was in the Shadow Realm, and his life was being drained.

Setekh spoke again to Anzu, "You have a choice to make, Anzu Mazaki. A sacrifice must be made!"

"No, no..." she could feel the tears running down her eyes.

"Choose who you wish to live! Your time is short, because a default choice will be made if you do not choose. This one," He pointed to Yugi. "cannot survive for long here. If you wish for Pharaoh Atemu to survive your mistakes, then you must kill his incarnate. If you wish for your mortal friend to survive, you must kill the Pharaoh."

Atemu fought against his bonds trying to reach Anzu and wanting to free Yugi. He could not believe what that this was happening. What had he missed when he had been pulled away? What was Anzu doing with a sword? Were they the offered sacrifices?

Catching on to what was happening, Yugi called out to Anzu, "Anzu! Do not let my partner be destroyed! You must... you must..." His voice failed him as he realized that this would cause his death.

"No! Anzu!" Atemu yelled out in opposition of Yugi, "You cannot choose me over Yugi. My time ended three thousand years ago! I will take the burden and punishment."

This was not fair Anzu thought to herself. Turning, she faced Ma'at, holding the blade in front of her. Anger was burning through her entire body.

"Goddes Ma'at, this cannot be fair! How can You allow this? You are the Goddess of Truth and Justice!" She accused the Goddess.

Ma'at's voice was soft, barely above a whisper. "Everything worth having requires a sacrifice, Anzu Mazaki, what will yours be?"

She looked back and forth between the pair, so alike yet so very different. Anzu stepped forward holding the blade in shaking hands. She approached Yugi first. Atemu surged forward in his bonds, afraid she was going to kill Yugi. She shook her head as she let the sword fall to her side. Anzu placed her free hand on Yugi's shoulder.

"Yugi, my dear friend who has been there through so much with me. I love you, my brother," she said to him. Tears were gathering at her lashes. She reached forward and hugged him tightly with one arm, keeping the sword pulled away from him.

"Anzu, please, please take me instead of my other me," he begged. She shook her head and moved over to Atemu.

Atemu looked at her with strangely calm, resolute violet eyes. He had always given himself up for others, this would be no different. As long as she was safe, that would comfort him in these last moments. When she reached out to cup his cheek, he laid his head against that warm hand and took in that last touch.

It took Anzu a few more moments to speak, sobs threatening to seal her throat. "Atemu, my love, my heart, my husband. You who has supported me no matter what. I love you, forever and always."

"Anzu," Atemu's voice was low, intense, "my wife, I am ready. Do what you must to save Yugi and yourself, and everyone." He bowed his head, ready for the blade.

She shook her head again, her hand lifting his chin to face him in the eyes. Her crystalline blue ones held the same calm as his did. Fear was filling his own eyes as he realized what she was going to do. His heart contracted painfully in his chest, an emotional pain made physical.

"No, Anzu, no!"

"I understand now. I understand the tests. Belief. Accounting. Atonement. And now..." Her voice trailed off. "The sacrifices I have made previously have not been true and worthy. I did them with a hope of reward, but with this... There are no rewards for me here. At least, that is what they want me to think."

Stepping back from Atemu, she gazed at him for as long as she was able before ripping her eyes from his figure. She looked down at the sword in her hands. It was so sharp. Anzu knew it would be quick and sure. Unbeknown to her, the golden crown of a true queen of Kemet had appeared around her head.

"Setekh, I defy Your offers! There is a third sacrifice that You choose not to present!" She cried out, tears falling down her cheeks.

Anzu turned the sword so the point was over her heart, the core of her being both physical and spiritual. She looked at Yugi and Atemu for one last moment. The Gods standing there were silent as statues, sentinels to witness this event. She took one last deep breath, it felt as if the world was hushed and waiting for her, and with all her strength, pushed the sharp sword through the core of her essence. She felt the ripping pain and then, heard blessed silence, and then, darkness stole her sight. Then, there was nothing. Anzu's body collapsed into a small heap.

Yugi felt himself fading and being pulled back to where he had come from. He tried to keep a grip of the spectral chains, but he was being yanked away. He kept crying out for Anzu. Searing itself upon his eyes was Anzu bleeding her heart's blood over herself and around the silver sword sticking out of her back and his partner's struggles to get to her. This image, burned in his mind forever, he took back, and awakened in Rebecca's arms, surrounded by everyone he had traveled to Egypt with. He kept screaming Anzu's name over and over again, inconsolable in his grief.

Unheeding of the vanishing Yugi, Atemu's very essence was filled with a sorrow he had never known. His wife, his wife, his mind could barely comprehend this, was there on the ground bleeding to death. A sword in her breast. Somehow, this could not be. This could not be happening. His bonds suddenly vanished and he raced to her side, cradling her body in his arms. His tears fell on her pale and lifeless face, mingling with the blood seeping from her lips. He raised his head to the empty sky and ceiling, the darkness of this crossroads surrounding him. It was nothing compared to the darkness rapidly filling his heart. Something inside him was being set free, and he could feel the mental binds coming undone with Anzu's loss.

Atemu's anguished scream shook the entire underworld.


	39. Ascended

"Anzu! Anzu is... is..." Yugi was gasping out, trying to tell them what he saw, but it broke his heart to see the death of one of his dearest friends.

Rebecca grasped him by his shoulders. She was trying to keep him still and looked into his eyes. "Anzu is... what happened Yugi? You were having a seizure of some sort."

Ishizu was sitting next to him on the floor. They had not yet moved him into the living room, and everyone was packed in the small bedroom. Outside, the storm continued to rage. The Egyptian woman's eyes widened when she felt a strange rumble ripple across the floor.

"Yugi! Calm down and tell me what happened?" She snapped and slapped him across the face. Rebecca gasped to see someone treat him that way. Others voices began to rise up in contention of this treatment.

"Ishizu! Anzu killed herself. I was tied up. Atemu was tied up. And she said she had to be the sacrifice and then she... she... she stabbed herself with a sword! And my other me... Atemu...!" Yugi exclaimed, his voice cracking from his state of mind.

Rishid frowned and left the room. Ishizu tried not to take note of this, busy concentrating on trying to get the story of what Yugi saw out of him. It was too crowded in the room for her liking. People were piled on the bed and standing in the doorway. Jonouchi and Honda were all limbs next to Rebecca, concerned about their best friend. Bakura was busy hanging back with Kaiba and Mokuba. Everyone was awake.

Mairku's voice cut through the din of everyone speaking over each other, "Ishizu, what can we do?"

"I don't know, Marik. I just do not know right now." She turned her face away from the still panicked Yugi and his fiancée and pulled herself into a standing position using the wall.

At that moment a low rumble reverberated through the walls and floor. Ishizu gasped as she watched and felt it increasing in strength. Everyone was looking around and exclaiming, it even shocked the upset Yugi into silence. Kaiba grabbed the door frame to keep from falling as Bakura and Mokuba collapsed on one another. Shizuka and Mai grabbed each other as they screamed.

"What is happening?!" Mai screamed out.

Jonouchi dived onto the bed, pulling his girlfriend and sister against him as picture frames of Egyptian landmarks crashed from the walls to the floor. Honda had done likewise with Yugi and Rebecca, protecting them from the shattering glass. They could hear the beams in the ceiling and walls bending in their places from the strain of the earthquake.

Kaiba pulled Mokuba up next to him and yelled over the cacophony. "We have to get outside! This building is going to collapse if it gets any stronger!"

Sugoroku was still in the living room area with Rishid. "The sandstorm is still out there. We cannot go outside and survive."

Rishid turned from his vigil by the window, his golden eyes dark from stress. "We are trapped. We have no choice but to pray one or the other ends soon."

"I don't care!" Kaiba ran toward the front door.

Mokuba tried to stop his brother but his hands slipped from the ends of his brother's jacket. Exiting the bedroom, the group saw as Kaiba raced to the door and ripped it open. Out of the blackness of night, brown sand carried by gale-force winds flew into the room. Screams resounded as most tried to dive for cover. Kaiba tried to grab his jacket for protection as he screamed out, shutting his eyes tight. It felt as if sandpaper was being rubbed across his face and that within moments, the delicate flesh of his eyelids would be destroyed.

From the far side of the room, Otogi braced himself and ran toward the door at full speed. He shoved the taller man aside and pushed the door shut. Kaiba was sprawled out next to him with his hand pressed against a bleeding wound on his forehead, the result of hitting an end table. A few of the group began to cough, trying to get what sand was in their lungs out.

Panting, Otogi looked at the stony man. "Sorry about that... but..."

"Whatever, think nothing of it," Kaiba responded, looking away.

Rebecca spoke up from the bedroom, "Did the earthquake stop?"

Looking around at the sand covered room and broken objects, Rishid sighed. "We seem to have a reprieve for the moment. Ishizu, what is the plan?"

In the blessed land of the dead, Aaru, an event was occurring that no sage or wise-man could have ever predicting occurring. As in the world of the living, a massive earthquake was shaking the palaces along the Nile river. Those who had spent their endless time in the golden land were frightened by this portent while simply built homes not used to such stresses tumbled and fell. Frothy waves rose up from the river, and the crocodiles began to navigate along the shoreline, their eyes changing to dark, glowing red.

People clung to their families, retreating away from the turbulent waves crashing upon the shore. Darkness was gathering around the land of the dead, a darkness so deep that stars could never penetrate. Chilly winds blew across the sands and lifted the fine grains into the air. On the horizon, the purple-black storm grew larger and swiftly flowed toward the epicenter of Aaru. Inside one of the palaces, the group of Atemu's priests discussed the escalating changes.

Standing on the balcony overlooking the clustered cities, the priests watched in horror at the changes occurring in Aaru. Wind and sand battered against them as they heard the cries of the people.

"I... I will have to get back to my palace for those who look to me." Seto broke the silence.

He was staring toward a city center not far from the one they were in. Kisara tightly clung to him, her head pressed against his chest. He wrapped his arms tighter around her. He squinted his eyes as he frowned at the storm in the distance.

Siamun nodded. "Yes, I understand, and soon, but for now could you stay to discuss what is happening since it will affect all of us?"

"I am not sure if any of us is prepared for something of this nature," Mahado stated, cutting off Seto and Siamun from further discussion. "Isis, have you been able to find a way to speak to your living counterpart again?"

"No, not anything certain," Isis answered, looking down at her hands. "Generally, it had been considered that in a reincarnation, the soul was truly reborn. With that line of thinking, what I witnessed, for I saw several duplicates on their group that matched ours, should not have occurred. In fact, I should not be here if we followed what is known. My soul would be with them, but it is here."

Mana frowned and offered, "Maybe, reincarnation is more of a connection or a shard of the same spirit?"

"Ripples in a pond perhaps?" Karimu added.

"Maybe," Isis answered. "However, how do I connect back to the ripple that came after me is unknown, or do I even really know which direction time is flowing. These things are beyond the scope of Sight."

Nodding his head to himself, Shada said, "Maybe we are thinking about this wrong."

"What do you mean?" Isis asked him.

"Mana, Mahado, how were you able to reach out to the Pharaoh before?" He asked suddenly, fixing his eyes on the magician couple.

"Well, we concentrated on him. Everything we knew and could remember about him. Physical and mental traits, and once his image was fixed within our minds, we followed to where he was."

"When you went to to his Queen?" Shada continued.

"The same." This time Mana spoke up. "She seemed to have an affinity toward my Ka, and we thought it best to send me since Pharaoh was weakened. Only that time, we concentrated upon her."

Shada nodded to Mana and turned back to Isis. "Then that is what we must do, we must concentrate to reach her."

Looking out through the pillars, Kisara suddenly spoke up, her voice awestruck, "There are stars falling outside..."

Outside, streaks of white light were pouring through the clouds and toward the land. Where they impacted, a cloud of sand and smoke rose up into the sky. Moments later, the cries of the fearful echoed across the landscape.

Seto gasped and turned toward his companions. "Forget summoning the living, we must call out to Pharaoh Atemu. Aaru..."

"Come sit, let us take each others' hands and try to reach Pharaoh," Isis said simply, and she took the hands of the priests next to her. "Mahado, Mana, you have more experience... could you?"

"Yes, Isis, we shall lead," Mahado responded and bowed his head. Around him, the others did likewise.

Chanting in a low cadence, they could feel the magic building around them. All sounds seemed to be more muted, and they could no longer hear the chaos outside the walls anymore. A soft golden glow began to emanate around them as Mahado's voice took on an echoing quality. Mana's softer, higher voice joined his and wrapped around his in harmony as they continued their spell, pulling the energies of their fellows into powering it.

In his mind's eye, Mahado could see his Pharaoh and friend begin to take shape, but the face was not the one he knew. This face was contorted in anger and pain. Suffering was in his eyes, and they had become as red as blood. A black miasma seemed to surround him. Suddenly, as if there was a wall, Mahado felt himself pushed away and struck back. Another face appeared, this was the muzzle of the Set beast, and he knew it to be Setekh. Pain lanced his chest as he felt them blocked from Atemu, and Mahado collapsed backwards.

Atemu felt like something had become broken within him. Seeing Anzu in a state of true death while in his arms, it seemed that the destruction of her akh to appease these forces that the gods seemed unable or unwilling to handle on their own was a waste. It did not matter if they thought she had set this in motion, it was impossible that the troubles of the underworld and Kemet were from her. He knew he was right in the next moment.

A laughing Setekh was there. Inpu looked at His father like He was mad, to do this would reveal that it was revenge on His part to pursue against Atemu for the snub of His realm. What was His father possibly thinking?

"Father, why are You laughing?" He asked Him.

Aset looked from the silent form of Atemu to the beastly faces of Her kin. Something was not right. There was a coldness coming from Atemu that She had never felt before in Her existence. Coldness and anger.

Setekh was triumphant. With the psychological and emotional damage done to Atemu by his wife's sacrifice, the bonds keeping the dark energies that he had taken within himself had been broken. When this darkness would be unleashed from Atemu, He could use it to stage a coup of the Pantheon. All that remained was giving him that final push into madness, and he would be completely malleable. He had intended for his wife to kill him, forcibly releasing the energy, when they all came to His attention thanks to Inpu but this would be much more pleasurable for Him.

"You were all convenient tools. You do realize this, little pharaoh?" Setekh hissed, His tongue flicking between gaps between His teeth.

Atemu looked up at the Dark God, tears streaking his cheeks. He had become silent since Setekh first spoke.

Setekh walked past His son, laughing to Himself. "Even You, Inpu, have been nothing more than a tool to Me. All of You! And especially them!" He pointed at Atemu and the remains of Anzu in his arms.

Inpu snarled back, surprised by this revelation. "Father! How can You say such about Me?!"

Aset stepped back to Asar, looking at Her husband with evident worry in Her eyes. Being right did not matter now, because it may be too late She thought to Herself.

"My son, You are an especially useful tool. Hence, I won't destroy you. However, that girl and pharaoh were My biggest tools and pieces in this fine plot." He continued laughing, the sound tearing through the ear. "Fools! You should have listened to Aset! The poorly performed heka of the girl would have never had the capability to cause any trouble to Kemet. I simply took advantage of an open situation to make My move and get revenge on all of You!"

He was turning slowly, making sure to catch each expression of betrayal and surprise from His brethren as They reappeared. This was His moment and His time. Setekh planned to hold dominion over Them all, and subsequently, all of creation.

A flash of something dangerous glinted across Atemu's eyes as he heard the words of Setekh. They had been used by Him. Anzu had given her life up, and he had not been able to save her. The world was still going to be destroyed even though she had given her greatest sacrifice. Nothing mattered anymore. There was nothing. Those gods had stood by and allowed this to happen because They had believed a liar like Setekh, preferring Him over Anzu regardless of the truth They had to have known or suspected. They only piece of importance for him was Anzu.

"I think she's outlived, or rather outdied, her usefulness. Don't you agree, Atemu?" Sneering this, Setekh snapped His fingers and Anzu vanished from Atemu's arms.

"Bring her back!" Atemu screamed, his features shifting to rage.

"No."

Looking down, Atemu could feel himself boiling under the surface of his veneer. A rage was there, and it was waiting to be released. He could not hold back any longer. It did not matter Setekh was a god or not. He would not stop until he saw Him destroyed for what He had done to him and Anzu.

"I said," Atemu's voice was low and laced with deadly intent, "bring her back, Setekh."

"What do you plan to do, you pathetic mortal? You're nothing but a ghost, a spirit. Nothing but a ball of energy waiting to be plucked. Come now! Know what you are!" Setekh's word cut into Atemu's soul.

Red light began to overtake the violet of Atemu's eyes as he looked up. He could feel himself releasing the growing power that was coiled at the base of his spine. It was unfurling itself like petals under a morning sun. Instead, it grew under the white-hot heat of his rage. He flung his arms back, and bolts of white, red-tinged light shot from all sides of him.

"Bring her back!" Atemu screamed again at Setekh.

"I plan to harvest your power like the farmer of the fields. You are nothing but a stalk waiting to be cut. What can you possibly do to Me?"

Ma'at snapped Her head up suddenly. Stepping back into the crowd, She allowed Herself to fade and vanish. Elsewhere, Aset watched the unfolding events in growing concern. Setekh continued to laugh at Atemu while those of the reformed Pantheon became witnesses.

Golden light was spilling from the group in the living room. It had taken another debate and a near-brawl to get everyone back into the same position as earlier, but Ishizu had been able to manage it. They intended to try to make contact with Anzu again. However, it was not going well. It felt like she was hitting a wall every time she pushed against the veil of separation. She could feel everyone's frustration as she fought against the unseen barrier. She had already collapsed twice from the strain, and she did not know if she could survive another.

At that moment, a counter glow appeared in the room. Silver light bathed them all as the priests of the past appeared in the room. Isis stood in the center and was facing Ishizu. Mahado's hands were upon her shoulders, and Ishizu could see his power flowing into the woman.

"Incarnate. Trouble has..." Her voice was cutting in and out, like a phone call with bad reception. "...in... quakes and storms... tearing the... apart...you know... happening?"

"There is trouble here as well! We don't know what has happened." Ishizu shouted back, everyone else had become silence with the appearance of the silvery ghosts. "Do you have a course of action?"

Isis shook her head. "Nothing... but we... to reach … and his queen... we combine..."

Isis held out her hand and the living Egyptian woman held hers out as well, offering herself and the group freely. She did not feel they needed to get into a debate about it. Earlier the storms had suddenly began to increase with thick streaks of lightning breaking through the sandstorm still raging around them. Dawn was supposed to be coming in the next half hour, but she feared they would not be able to see it. More earthquakes had rumbled, but none of them had been as strong as the initial one yet.

Clasping their hands together, everyone watched as the walls around them seemed to melt away into a world of emptiness. The spirits of the past became almost as nearly real as the living, and gasps of surprise resonated throughout the living. No one dared to say a word. Before the bound group, an image of Anzu began to appear.

She looked almost at peace. It was as if she were a sleeping child waiting for her mother. Her hair was fanning out behind her as she slowly tumbled in the limitless space. Anzu looked both otherworldly and fragile. Ishizu opened her mouth to speak, but a sudden whirlwind appeared and blew away the vision. They all returned to the small apartment, both the living and the dead.

Within the center of the whirlwind that had interrupted them, a beautiful Egyptian woman holding an ankh and _was_ staff appeared. Upon her headdress was a large ostrich feather that was nearly two-feet long. Her eyes were dark and luminous, deeper than the mysteries of the night.

"You must stop." Her voice echoed to them. "You must stop. There is nothing more that you can do. I am Ma'at. I am Truth. Heed My words, oh mortals gathered here."

"What are we supposed to do then, Goddess?" Rishid spoke up, rebutting the goddess' words. He had enough of gods and death and magic at this point.

She looked almost sad, even though palpable power radiated from Her. "I will do what I can, but know this, that this is now in the hands of the gods and there is naught that mortals can do anymore. If you interfere, you will be destroyed. Atemu and Anzu would be hurt if that happened."

Rishid looked down and away from Ma'at. Otogi spoke up next, "How will we know when this is fixed?"

A very small smile cracked upon Her lips for a moment and vanished. "You will know."

"What about if you fail?" Kaiba spoke up. A few looked sharply in his direction, from both sides.

"You will most assuredly know."

With those last words, Ma'at vanished in a haze of white light, and the connection between those of Aaru and the living was severed. All involved were knocked back by the force of Her exit.

It was nothingness here. Quiet. Alone. Nothing. A void that did not end. A breath waiting for life. A spark that would not set. Then why was there someone within this beginning and end. She floated alone, curled into a fetal position, and her black hair swirled around her like she was underwater. This was not life, but she was not gone. Her dark blue eyes slowly revealed themselves as she opened them.

A dark-skinned statuesque woman was next to her. She was at ease and staring off into the distance. Her multicolored sheer robes whirled around her in the void. Noticing the slight change in the pale one next to her, she smiled.

"It is about time that you woke up, Little Swan."

Anzu uncurled herself from her position and turned to face the woman who had set her forth on the flight to Egypt and the one who had bestowed the Millennium Tome upon her.

"Mikala... what are you doing here?" It was the first thought that had entered Anzu's mind.

Mikala chucked, her voice low and vibrant. "I am dead, you could say."

Caught off-guard, Anzu replied, "What do you mean?"

"Anzu, do you know who you really are? What you really are?" Mikala did not wait for a response. "Are we figments and eddies of the cosmos? Or could we be ghosts of what is more real, a greater power, and most of the time, never realize that we are shards."

"I don't understand."

Mikala smiled again, her teeth seemingly more white in the emptiness. "Sometimes we jump around a bit, but that's alright. Do you know what Atemu is?"

Anzu blinked. "Atemu is Pharaoh. I'm not sure the question. This is all confusing. Where am I? Where are we?"

A shrug. "Think, Anzu. Remember everything."

"I..." Anzu stared at Mikala and noticed something increasingly familiar about the woman. Certain angles of her face, the bone structure and notably the eyes. Those eyes that she had seen before her final death, the death of her soul as sacrifice in front of the Egyptian Pantheon. She had told the bearer of those eyes who had told her that the sacrifice must be made.

"Ma-" A finger pressed itself against her lips, silencing Anzu.

"Shh... You mustn't say it out loud or you will call forth in this void." Mikala's many bracelets jingled as she removed her finger from Anzu's lips.

Anzu looked down at her hands, she could see herself shaking from the revelation she had made. Another thought solidified itself and was spoken. "Why did you direct me to the Millennium Tome?"

"I don't like it when anyone is not playing fairly. Events had already been set in motion to cause problems, notably for you." Her voice was simple and exact, like that of a teacher to a student.

"But... it still caused all this to happen. I'll never see Atemu again. My essence has been forfeit."

Mikala chuckled at the young woman. "What makes you say that?"

"Because I did as you said, I sacrificed a human soul to stop the tragedy."

Another laugh, then another. The silvery sound resonated throughout the entire space. "Who said you were human, Anzu Mazaki?"

"What?" Anzu gasped, her eyes widened in surprise. "Then that means... that means... but... what..."

"To stop His campaign, a mortal sacrifice had to occur. He was determined that you sacrifice Atemu. He will also learn the hard way that what He did to influence this choice was a failure. You know of whom I speak?" Mikala was gazing away from Anzu again.

"Yes."

"However, He was wrong about Atemu as well. Atemu is not human either. Sadly, Atemu is finding this out the hard way as well." Her voice had lowered a notch, a creeping touch of sadness in it.

Anzu frowned. "Why is it you can say my and Atemu's names, here, but I cannot say the names of the Gods here?"

Mikala turned to look at Anzu once again. "Because, those are not your true names. Do you remember your name, Anzu? Do you remember Atemu's?"

"What happened after I died? What happened to Atemu?" Anzu felt an instinct drawing her to ask this question instead. She was staring at Mikala's profile and could see the woman twitch at the question.

Finally, Mikala bowed her head and sighed. "It was a gamble. A gamble We all made depending on our perspective and involvement. I suppose after a millennium, pettiness becomes a bit of the norm and We do not realize what our actions are really doing. We see a bright light, and We want to touch it or control it. I suppose We are all being burned now.

"I made my own mistake by giving you Aset's tome of magic. However, I felt and still feel, that had I not, this situation could be much worse. As it stands, there is a small figment of hope right now. Very small, but it is there.

"In addition. lower level beings were having their fun playing with you at the behest of certain Others. I do not think They expected that you had a strong enough bond with Atemu to have called him out of his slumber. Of course, once he was able to break from Aaru and reach you, a new weakness was found and formed. It was acted upon.

"He has always been one to sacrifice himself for others. He has done this without regard to what capacity should be defined. Much darkness and evil has been sealed behind the golden glow of his soul. Anzu, do you think any run-of-the-mill human could do the things that he has done?"

"No, no, I don't think just anyone could have done those things," Anzu replied. "But, I mean, I understand that Atemu could not be human. I can, but I don't understand how I am not human either?"

"In the beginning when the cosmos was empty, before the Divine existed, and all was unformed, a single word was whispered out into that void. It became the sun, yet there was no light. This sun was over the formless ocean. They longed for one another, hot and cold, fire and water, and from them the lands were born and the deities, those spoiled children of these primordial beings. Tasks were assigned and gifts given, but over time, the originators grew bored and slept. To dream, and experience, shards of their existence traveled throughout time and watched the world grow and change.

"However, they could never stand for injustice, even if they forgot their own names over time. Though," Mikala laughed for a moment, "it is auspicious that Atemu was named as he was by his father. Perhaps he knew... perhaps he did not.

"Regardless, even if they did not remember their names, if one of them were to become irrevocably harmed... do you think that the other would be able to survive it? With the power of creation in their hands, what could happen with that much anger?" She finished, her voice somber and sober.

Anzu's mind raced, trying to connect the various cosmogenies. There was just too much information and not enough refinement. She cursed at herself for not studying it more, but they had been so focused on other information and not the creation myths. She felt Mikala touch her arm.

"Anzu, facts and figures will not show you the way. Your name is in your soul. Find that first and everything else will fall into place."

"But, if what you are saying is true, then that means... Atemu might..." Panic was trying to rise up in Anzu as she thought about that anger she had seen before in Atemu. He could be uncontrollable when pushed far enough. She had been able to stop him before, but they had been together.

She looked over at Mikala, but she shrugged and seemed to stand up, even though they had already been floating.

"I wanted to apologize to you. For the way I treated you at times. I recalled from former errors long ago that I should not interfere too much, but in this case, when I realized what I knew, much later and after the fact, I had to initiate some action on my part."

Anzu nodded. "I suppose you were doing the best you could with what you had, but do you know our names?"

Mikala shook her head. "I know the common names, but I do not know the secret names. No one knows your secret names, only each other."

"Oh... what if you-" Anzu started to offer.

"It would only confuse you and keep you from remembering properly. You can tell me it later, but now, I must be going. I am going to release this shard into peace." Her voice was matter of fact, though somewhat tinged in sadness.

Anzu nodded and looked down at her feet. Her mind swimming as she tried to concentrate hard on remembering this secret name that she apparently had. Mikala interrupted one more time.

"Good-bye, Grandmother." And she was gone.

Turning quickly at the admission from Mikala, Anzu watched as she vanished before her eyes. She had called her grandmother. What could this mean? Could she be? Was she? Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, the young woman tried to empty her mind of all thoughts and carry herself to that secret part of her soul.

"I shall destroy you first."

Atemu's voice was a low growl, and each word lanced both ears and minds of the Divine surrounding him. His glowing red eyes had fixed themselves upon Setekh and Inpu, the two gods he felt were the reason for his wife's destruction. He couldn't even feel her presence since she had been taken away. There was nothing there, and now, there would be nothing left.

He could feel the sorrows of the world within him. The anger, the betrayals, the fears and loneliness swirled within his being. However, these did not hold a light against the fiery inferno of suffering he had found himself within. There was nothing left for him. He had given her his heart, and now with her death, it felt like his heart had been taken away as well. Nothing mattered, and it would all be nothing.

Setekh laughed. This person could not destroy or harm Him, no matter what show his anger was putting on. He knew he was powerful, powerful enough to destroy worlds, but to destroy a God as old as Him. It was foolishness.

"You are pathetic, Atemu," He snarled, "Just because of your little light show and a bit of rumbling, you think you can destroy Me?"

Ma'at had reappeared during this exchange. Her silvery light illuminated the darkness for a space of a moment and faded away.

"Setekh, You are a fool!" She cried out. "You play with that which is sleeping like an errant, spoiled child. You will be bit for Your carelessness."

Aset was next to Her, pale as a moon and fright in Her luminous eyes. "Ma'at, do You know what is happening?" She asked Her softly, barely above a whisper.

"I, like You and My errant kin, am only making a gamble," She responded, Her voice just as low. "In the end, even We are nothing more than shards and ghosts."

Blinking in surprise, Aset queried again, "What do You mean? Are You not Truth, can You not see through the lies that hide?"

Ma'at turned to face Aset. She could see the white fear in Her normally calm eyes. "Aset, there are some truths that even I cannot be privy."

"What?" Aset was shocked.

She shook Her head and didn't answer Her question. Instead, She refocused Her attention upon Atemu. Her thoughts raced through Her mind. If She was wrong, then Atemu was something that even She could not fathom. Anzu had to remember, not only for their sakes, but everyone and his.

"Foolish words coming from You, Ma'at! You cannot even answer why? Has Your power been stripped from You?" Setekh laughed again, turning His back upon Atemu.

"Do not turn your back to me, Setekh," Atemu's voice shook through the cosmos.

This time, Setekh could feel it grating across His mind like sandpaper. The sensation shocked Him. Ma'at and Aset fell to Their knees along with others crying out in pain of it, Their hands clasped against Their heads.

Refusing to allow Himself to be commanded by this creature, Setekh kept His back to Atemu. "What do you plan to do, little pharaoh? Another one of your tricks? Obviously, this must be some spell you are casting out of Aset's blasted book of heka."

Black tentacles expanded from Atemu's sides, filling up the whole of the boundless space around him. All of the Pantheon saw, except Setekh who only laughed, His back still turned. They recoiled back in fear. Several tried to fade out but discovered They suddenly could not exit from the pools of creation and destruction.

"What are You that You Divine would recoil from this pathetic mortal who thinks he can command the Gods?" Setekh shouted at Them.

Atemu's voice was low and deadly, and it carried throughout Setekh's entire being. "They are wise to step away from me, because when I through with you, they are next... as is all things."

Setekh turned and saw the sight that They had seen. For the first time in millenniums, He was scared of something. Fear found itself in His what little heart He had as He looked upon the merciless eyes of Atemu. It seemed as if they had become a singular beam of glowing blood as the light expanded with the appendages around him.

"What... what is this! Ma'at! What do You know!" He shrieked, His voice cracking into a feared howl.

Ma'at trembled next to Aset. "He... Atemu... speaks truth... All is lost."

Lightning fast, the tentacles reared back for a moment before striking at Setekh. They picked Him up and lifted Him above Atemu. Barely a change of reaction occurred upon Atemu's face as he observed the God of Chaos and Night struggling above him.

"Like my wife, so shall you be destroyed," he said, as his arms swung outwards. The black appendages followed suit and began to try to rip Setekh apart.

Screaming in pain, a pain He had not known since the last battles with Re and Haru, Setekh tried to fight against the bounds that Atemu had Him in. He could feel His essence being pulled in all directions, and tears began to glow against His manifestation.

"No! What are you!?"

Atemu looked down, stopping for but a moment. "I do not know anymore. I am rage and anger, destruction of all things because there is nothing left in me. You took it all away with your scheming. And now, you shall not be."

Howling, Setekh shouted back, "I cannot be destroyed! Gods cannot be destroyed!"

"Be that as it may, I can make sure that you do not reform again for a very, very long time."

Atemu then grinned; pure malice upon his characteristically fine features contorted his visage. He swept his hands downward, and the tentacles born of his anger sundered Setekh into pieces. Sparkling light, like stars, twinkled as they floated downward and vanished around him. They were absorbed into his near limitless violet-black aura.

"And with the destruction of all of you, Pantheon, I shall see the worlds end and the nothingness everlasting shall be reborn." His voice was empty of any emotion.

There came a whispering. Not from the gods, but from around the founts of creation and destruction. Atemu paused, his body ready to grasp each of the gods like matchsticks and break them as he had done Setekh.

"What is..."

"My name..." The voice whispered.

"Who is this? An-" Parts of the dark energies surrounding Atemu began to fade.

"Your name..."

His face began to change, returning to a near-semblance of his original expressions.

"My name is... Your name is... We are the Father and Mother. I know who I am and You must know who You are. I am here. I am here. I am never far for I was born of Your shadow, in the night of emptiness. Our son was the beams of light and so creation was brought forth by Our hands and love."

Silent and rapt, the Pantheon watched as a separate form appeared just behind Atemu. It was created of his shadow. Her body was familiar to them, because they had watched her pierce it herself with Ma'at's feather-blade. All the external forms of his darkness retreated before the true living shadow of Atemu. He turned to face the speaker.

"I am Your wife, always Your wife, and I cannot be destroyed. We cannot be destroyed. Only if We decide it so." She extended Her arms out to Him in love, Atemu fell to His knees before Her mysteries, the one who was His opposite yet eternal partner.

"My name is..." She spoke a name, but the Pantheon each heard a different name. "Your name is..." Again, no one could truly hear the sacred names that She spoke at that moment, but They all knew that before Them was Mother and Father, the creators of the Pesedjets. Ma'at smiled softly, Her intuition had been correct.

One by one, each of the gods fell to Their knees before Them. Atemu took the woman into His arms as She became flesh once more. Her eyes were as blue as the Nile under the glowing sun, Her skin as white as the sands under the moon, and Her hair as dark as the night sky. His anger spent, and no longer alone or contained by it, Atemu cried into Her hair as She wrapped Her arms around Him. Husband and wife were reunited.


	40. Ended

All became calm. The sands stopped blowing and ceased their constant howl. Dark clouds retreated to the horizon, vanishing like they had never appeared. Waters receded from the banks of the Nile river and resumed their natural course. Animals returned to their normal positions as crane dipped their beaks into the muddy banks looking for choice wormy morsels of breakfast. Rising in the distance, the dawn sun arose from the last lingers of night to cast its budding illumination over the land.

Pale gray light seeped in through the windows and cast the steely light over the rag-tag group of people in an apartment near the Nile. They were completely silent, unsure of what had just happened. Knowing what little they knew, they were in a state of shock and wondered if they dared to believe that the events of the last twenty-four hours had ended. Not even an hour ago, they had witnessed a goddess in their midst and Yugi had seen things he wanted with all his heart to erase, praying that they had never happened. His fiancée held his hand tightly, her face turned toward the windows. They could hear people in the other apartments exiting and chatting animatedly in their various dialects.

Letting go of Rebecca's hand, Yugi stood up and said to the group, "We need to get to the Valley of the Kings and find out what has happened. I have to know..."

"Is it safe to go outside?" Mai asked, looking at the front door where small piles of sand still remained.

"For all their violence," Sugoroku said, keeping his glance on the Ishutarus in case they wanted to interject, "sandstorms can retreat just as quickly and viciously as they come."

"What about the earthquakes?" Mokuba added.

Everyone was silent as Sugoroku mulled over this. Earthquakes would come from nowhere, and if there were still aftershocks to remain, they would be caught unawares if not careful. His thoughts were quickly interrupted by Yugi.

"I don't care, I'm going outside and going to Atemu's tomb. That was where Anzu was going, and that is where we need to go."

Looking at Ishizu, the young man with the tri-colored hair noticed how quiet she had been. Her eyes were wide, with the whites fully ringing the blue irises. She appeared like a statue. The only indication of life was the quick rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed.

"Sister?" Mariku probed her with his question. He wasn't sure what was happening to his sister. She had been in this state since Ma'at's disappearance. Resting his hand on her shoulder, he gently shook her to get her attention.

Coming out of her trance-like state, Ishizu realized everyone was waiting for her to respond. "It is over. We should be safe now."

Rishid helped her stand with Mariku's assistance as everyone else stood up. Sand was dusted off of pants and shirts and red-rimmed, tired eyes took in their meager and damaged surroundings as they exited through the front door. Kaiba was the only one to carry anything with him, other than the essentials, and it was his ever-present silver briefcase. Ishizu locked the door behind them and turned to face what everyone else was seeing.

Luxor was a mess of sand and broken trees. Many cars were buried underneath dunes carried in from the deepest heart of the desert to the banks of the Nile river. They could see several power lines had snapped from the constant wind and hung limply from their posts, the electricity cut off to prevent injuries. People walked to their semi-buried cars, pushing sand off with their hands. Below their place on the breezeway, the top to Kaiba's rented Porsche was in ruin, and the car itself was full of sand.

Kaiba turned his head away from the car and mumbled something under his breath. Mokuba gasped at whatever it was he said. Shizuka, who was next to them, blushed bright red.

"We will have to find alternate transportation to the Valley," Rishid said, surveying the damaged vehicles, including his car.

Yugi sighed and turned to look at the Ishutarus. "What do you suggest?"

"Yugi! Look!" Rebecca cried out, pointing at a pair of glowing motes racing from the rising sun.

Yugi, including those not facing the same direction as Rebecca, all turned to see what she was pointing toward. At first, they appeared to be small orbs of light, and the sun would blind them out of eyesight. Then, they would dart and twist around one another back into perception. Not far from the apartment hotel they were at, the orbs stopped their movement. They were large and about the size of a human body. Slowly, the incandescent spheres descended toward the Nile. Yugi raced down the stairs toward the shoreline.

As the group reached the banks of the Nile, the glowing light had reformed into images of Anzu and Atemu. Both were dressed in the traditional garb of the Eighteenth Dynasty royalty and wore elaborate golden headdresses around their heads. They were smiling and laughing, saying words that none of those watching could hear. Oblivious to the group that was splashing into the water and running toward their semi-transparent forms, they poured water from their hands onto one another.

"My other me! Atemu! Anzu!!" Yugi cried out, his hand outstretched.

Ishizu raced ahead of the others to reach Yugi, grabbing him by his shirt and pulling him back toward her.

"Wait! No!"

Yugi turned, anger in his eyes, "What are you doing, Ishizu?!"

Looking at the couple ahead of them and then back toward those behind her. "They are not really here. Look if you do not believe me. Can you truly see them? Can you hear them?"

Shizuka pulled up short, Mai and Jonouchi put their hands upon her to calm her as she stuttered out, "Are they ghosts?"

She looked down, Ishizu was not sure what they were witnessing. Her heart felt strangely light, but at the same time, her soul was consumed by reverence. She could see the same feelings upon her companions faces. Once stopped, even the same emotions had triggered in Yugi and calmed him down.

"I don't know, Shizuka," she finally said.

Honda had reached his wife and pulled her to him, allowing Mai and Jonouchi to join Yugi and Ishizu ahead of him. Behind him, Otogi watched Shizuka and then, Anzu and Atemu.

"I don't think they're ghosts," Jonouchi said, his voice catching in his throat. "They are something more, and they are something we can no longer touch. It feels... I feel safe and I think they are, too."

Mai nodded and felt her boyfriend's fingers interlace through hers. Tears were trickling down her cheeks. The feeling reminded her of what it was like before her parents had died. That same all-encompassing love and protection. She had only found that same feeling with Jonouchi when she had finally let him into her heart.

Yugi nodded as Ishizu released him from her hold. "It reminds me of when we were in my other me's memories and when he defeated Zorc."

"Yeah, like that," Jonouchi said.

As the sun rose higher, and witnessed by those present, Atemu and Anzu vanished like they had never been there. Only the lingering feeling of absolute love remained in the place. Even Kaiba's normally sharp features had softened as he and Mokuba remembered the love of their parents before they had become orphans.

"Mai," Jonouchi said, gently cupping his girlfriend's cheek, "I have something to ask you..."

Mai glanced away, a blush on her cheeks, "Me, too."

They both paused, giving the other a moment to speak first. When they had both been silent for several seconds, they finally spoke at the same time.

"Marry me?"

Shizuka began to clap instantly, her emotions augmented by happiness for her brother. Honda shouted out for them to say yes and Sugoroku began to talk about young love and the promises it brings. Jonouchi and Mai both had bright red cheeks. Yugi smiled brightly, his heart feeling light and full of happiness. Rebecca was running through the water toward him with her arms open wide.

Jonouchi picked up Mai and spun her around as she shouted, "Yes! Yes! A thousand yeses!"

Before kissing her, he murmured into her ear, "Now, I can know a complete life with you as my wife."

A chorus of clapping resounded as they kissed. Caught up in their passion, they fell into the water and began to laugh. Bakura leaped into the cool water and splashed them. Even the Ishutaru brothers jumped into the play. Within moments, everyone except Kaiba had joined the fray and were throwing up handfuls of the calf-deep water at one another.

Mokuba cupped water into his hands and ran at his brother, soaking his jacket with it. Kaiba jumped back with a surprised look on his face.

"You can put that suitcase down, Brother, and come play with us. It's okay." Mokuba smiled up at his brother.

Otogi grinned at the younger Kaiba brother and raced up to older one, snatching the steel suitcase away from him. "Kaiba, it is time to put this down. Ten minutes will not hurt you."

"But, I-" Kaiba tried to argue on this, he was not one to frolic.

Putting the suitcase down in a safe spot, Otogi joined Mokuba to pull Kaiba into the Nile together. Within moments, a rare scene occurred as Kaiba began to laugh and splash the group around him. Bakura managed to dunk him under water. Rebecca and Yugi had teamed up against Mai and Jonouchi in a splash fight. Otogi and Mariku were chasing Mokuba, who had thrown a bit of wet sand in their hair. Everyone was quickly soaked.

Making his way to his sister, Rishid smiled at the suddenly laughing and playing group. "Do you think we'll need to go to the Valley still?"

She shook her head. "No, we are not going to find anything there. I think it is safe to say, we have all the confirmation we could need."

"Good. I hope that this time, we have a longer time period of quiet!" With that, Rishid picked up his half-protesting sister and proceeded to dump her into the river water while they both laughed. They joined their friends in the loud, splashing fight as the locals shook their heads and talked about the silliness of tourists in Arabic.

In Aaru, a quieter reception was occurring. All of the Sacred Guardians, the priests of Atemu's time, had gathered and watched their Pharaoh and Queen bathe in the waters of the Nile. However, the couple was just as untouchable to them as the living. Aware of what they were seeing, they had all fallen to their knees in supplication and reverence. Only when they had vanished, did any of them dare to speak again.

"They are the Pesedjets. We had always suspected that Pharaoh was Atum, especially after he called forth Horakhty to defeat Zorc. However, we never knew that Anzu was truly Iusaaset," Seto said out-loud, his eyes watching as the sun in Aaru rose to its customary place in the sky and fix itself there.

Kisara smiled and looked over to Mana and Isis, then back to Seto. "It makes perfect sense when you remember the history."

He chuckled, upstaged by his lover. Soft laughter from the others joined his. They turned and made their way back toward their respective areas in the afterlife. Aaru, the Egyptian Heavefn, was content once more.

In the Valley of the Kings, where there had once been a tomb that was feared for its dangerous traps, a wall of smooth rock covered its known entrance. No markings were there. It was as if it had never existed. Instead, a great acacia tree grew there, and its swaying branches were heavy with flowers. A faint perform scented the area.

From the sky above, a great vulture descended from the pale blue, flawless sky to alight upon one of the larger branches of the tree. A large serpent that had been hidden coiled his body up and around the trunk, reaching the vulture in the branches. Bowing, the vulture pressed its head against the snake's. Moments later, the tree, snake, and vulture all become translucent and watery, and then all three vanished under the glare of the bright morning sun.

* * *

**A/N: So ends the Yu-Gi-Oh fanfiction story of Ghosts. I hope you found all the hints, starting from the very beginning to now. I hope you enjoyed the ups and downs. I hope that you forgive me, this humble author, for the occasional hurt I gave you. However, without bitterness, we cannot know sweetness. Without sorrow, we cannot know joy. Without sacrifice, we cannot know life. **

**Some have reviewed or messaged asking about the research into Ghosts. If you would like to know more about Ancient Egyptian beliefs and Ancient Egyptology, please message me and I will send you my research list. Some of it is books and not all Internet links. It would be impossible to even begin to describe to you the amount of research that went into this story. I am no Egyptologist, so I can only hope that I have done well with what I studied.**

**I will continue working on the doujinshi (aka fan-manga). Once I have enough material for the first two chapters, I may set up a publish site outside of my DeviantArt account. At the instance of a friend, I may print it and take it to the art tables at a few anime conventions. We'll have to see. My day-job is a very busy one, plus I am trying to go back to school as well. **

**In addition, I will be going back through the story and making minor changes for grammar and spelling that I might have missed. Editing, editing... At that time, when I finish, I will remove most of this message and place it on the first chapter. Please message me to be on my 'list' to know about the small changes made to the story, if you'd like. I'll be happy to summarize so you don't have to reread. **

**I must admit, when I started the story, I did not intend it to be as long as it did, but the other characters begged to be included and heard. I had to listen to them. And now, their stories are calling to me as well. Poor Shizuka, where is her heart really? Ryou Bakura and Seto Kaiba, you have no idea what you want or need? Mai and Jonouchi, was it hard when you reunited? Ishutarus, what is in your futures and who will cross your paths? Oh, I must find time for all these hobbies and stories. Thank you for cheering me to complete this story. I feel like I'm on top of a mountain right now. **

**Thank you, once again, for reading my stories and giving me a voice in your heart and mind. Even if it takes a little bit to get to it, there will be more stories and art. I can promise at least that much. So be sure to watch me. This is just the beginning. I look forward to sharing more stories with you, and I hope that you will join me for my next writing project.**

**ありがとうございます。**


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